Healing Old Wounds
by rushosmj
Summary: "Are you going to be coming in, or do you now hold the record for the creepiest shinobi in the Leaf Village?" He asked playfully. "Well, I suppose I could take that title from you, but why spoil the fun?" The figure replied as she walked into the classroom and came to stand beside him. Thank god for good friends. KakashiXOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Thanks so much for checking out the story! Feel free to comment and of course, I don't own Naruto, only my character Matsumi!**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Arrangement

Kakashi sighed heavily and rubbed his head. He knew one thing for sure: his new team was full of complete idiots. He still smiled though, stretching the fabric of the mask that obscured half his face. He had successfully completed the first meeting with his new students, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and of course, Uzumaki Naruto.

Each one of them had the potential to be a great ninja, but it was probably Sakura who intrigued him the most, due to her untapped and unrecognized potential and as shadowed as she was by her current teammates. In his musing, it did not escape him now much these three reminded him of his old team, especially Naruto who looked so much like his father, the Lord Fourth Hokage, Kakashi's own mentor.

Chuckling to himself, he almost didn't notice the shadow lingering just outside of the doorway to the classroom where their first meeting had just concluded. Almost.

"Are you going to come in, or are you competing with me for the title of creepiest Shinobi in the Leaf Village?" He asked playfully.

"Well, I suppose I could take that title from you, but why spoil the fun?" The figure replied as she walked into the classroom and came to stand beside him.

"Wow," she remarked, "I haven't been in this room since we were all Genin. Crazy how some things never change." She looked around appreciatively, most likely swarmed by old, nostalgic memories.

Kakashi, however, was looking appreciatively at something other than the classroom. Kurama Masumi walked up the stairs that separated the seats as they rose to form a small theatre. As she ascended the steps, Kakashi was able to admire not only her fine figure, but also the fact that the tight field pants she usually wore were replaced by a short black skirt. He continued to watch her until she sat down on one of the table tops and crossed her legs, swinging the top foot and smiling at him.

She did have a lovely smile and couldn't help returning it though he knew she couldn't see it behind the mask. She moved to flip back her long black hair which was as usual, plated into a thick braid. She leaned forward, uncrossed her long legs and propped up her face with her hands, elbows on her knees.

Kakashi, always ready to deny perversion in public almost didn't notice what was causing her to look at him that way. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Still smiling, he crossed to the left and deftly locked the classroom door, then crossed to his right and pulled the curtains closed against the fading afternoon sun. Finally, his preparations complete, he traced Masumi's footsteps up to the third row where she was now perched.

"I must say, it was one thing for you to meet me after my rendezvous, Sumi-chan, but quite another to bring such a tempting surprise with you." She grinned wickedly at the use of his nickname for her.

"Well, I figured any man who has had as stressful a day as you deserves a surprise now and then."

"That's true," Kakashi said in his lazy way as his left hand settled comfortably on her hip, the right resting on one of her thighs, "But I must imagine that the walk over here was cold, considering your lack of usual clothing." He slid his hand further up her leg, enough to not only make her shiver, but to also tease the soft and naked area which she had so thoughtfully prepared for him.

Sumi, no stranger to Kakashi's teasing, wasn't wasting any time herself. She leaned into his advances, green eyes meeting his usual crinkled-smile. Her left hand cupped his cheek, the right rested lightly on his heavily muscled chest. With another wicked grin, she tugged his mask down around his throat and placed a hearty kiss on his lips.

At this signal, Kakashi crushed Sumi to his chest, while at the same time, pushed her flat on the table. He deepened the kiss, his hands roaming over her entire body. Sumi shared his fervor, right hand lowered fully to the pulsing area between his legs. Kakashi groaned and used both hands to hike up her skirt around her waist, effectively exposing everything below her navel to the cold air of the classroom.

Sumi made a squealing sound against his lips both to address the rough movement and the change in temperature, but Kakashi made no move to pull away. Instead, he charged on, hands playing her like a well-tuned piano. His dexterous fingers, so heavily calloused from his work as a ninja, were soft and teasing when employed in this opposite venture.

After several minutes, Sumi's breathing changed against the onslaught of his lips, her voice escaping in heady gasps and small moaning sounds. As such, it was having a similar effect on Kakashi himself, his hands becoming suddenly clumsy, his head unfocused. Finally, he couldn't take it a second longer. He withdrew from her entirely, but grasped her firmly at the hips. She looked at him in question, but grasped his intent soon enough. She allowed him to guide her to a standing position, and then rotated to present her round and firm backside as she leaned over the same table that they had been defacing seconds earlier.

Kakashi took a moment to both steady himself, and to admire her from that position. He always found that no matter how many missions she accomplished, it remained a little plumper than the average kunoichi's. Consequently, this was the perfect amount for him to grab with both hands. He did so now, but not before extracting himself from his pants and positioning himself behind her, plunging himself into her slick opening.

He went slowly at first, allowing her to become accustomed to him again as it had been about two weeks since their last…engagement. Then, almost unable to take it himself, he sped up. He thrust into her and she leaned back into his presence. Each moved to a rhythm that was at once familiar, but also always thrilling for both of them.

Each thrust was masterful, each Shinobi bring brought closer and closer to the edge. Finally, Kakashi felt Sumi tremble under him, a sudden pressure around himself, and she let out a low moan of pleasure when Kakashi himself followed her, groaning loud and low, leaning on her back, pressing her into the table top with his weight and frame.

Each rode out their own climax together, breathing hard. Kakashi adjusted his body so as not to crush her before standing up. Sumi stood up as well, and leaned back into him, taking a moment to feel the warmth of their bodies together.

"Well, it's good to see you too." She said, her voice grinning enough that even if he couldn't see her face, he knew it matched his own expression.

"Yeah, maybe you should have a long mission more often. That way I can get you to meet me naked next time." As he said this he risked sneaking one hand around her front and playfully grabbing one of her sizable breasts.

Laughing, she swatted his hand away and pushed off of him in order to right herself.

"I don't think you will get that, Kakashi-kun. But I might have some more ideas for the near future." She rose up on tiptoes to kiss his still un-masked face before he raised the cloth once more to cover his bold features.

"Oh, more ideas you say? I think I _have_ to get those out of you."

* * *

Kakashi and Masumi walked side-by-side through the village, each just enjoying the other's presence. To the untrained eye, they looked like professional acquaintances, walking in the general direction of home. Neither one was touching the other or walking particularly close together.

As they walked they passed a popular tea shop, which by their own rotten luck happened to be catering to several people that the two wished not to run into at that particular moment: Guy Might, Sarutobi Asuma, and Yuhi Kurenai.

"Kakashi! Kakashi! My rival! I _insist_ that you must join us!" Guy hollered in his good-natured way, then through his squinted look he added, "Is that Sumi-kun with you? Suuuumiii-kuuun! I beg that you must join us too!" All of this was stated with the volume that would have been more appropriate if the pair had been a hundred feet away, instead of the ten feet which was the case.

As it was, Masumi and Kakashi were both highly embarrassed, and in need of an ear-doctor. Masumi glanced helplessly at Kakashi who shrugged and they both crossed over the join their comrades at the table.

Kakashi took the place between Asuma and Guy while Masumi scooted as close to Kurenai as she could. Guy sat on her other side and chose to scoot closer to Masumi. Kakashi frowned minimally at the seating arrangement before relaxing his face into his usual bored expression. He knew that Masumi had been with their group at the academy and when it had come time to assign the three-team squads, she had been placed on a team with Guy and another fellow, Yamashiro Aoba. He also knew that Guy had feelings for Masumi which could be traced to their days as Genin.

Kurenai thankfully, knew the situation and also knew that Masumi, while she enjoyed Guy's friendship and their trust as teammates, did not and never would return those feelings. As such, Kurenai was doing her best to engage Masumi in a fierce conversation regarding her new team of Genin. Guy, who had his current team from the last year, could not capture Masumi's attention when compared to Kurenai's news.

Masumi who was very interested in earnest in Kurenai's assigned team was participating evenly in the conversation. She laughed at something Kurenai said and then caught Kakashi's eye with her leaf-green ones and sent him a slight smile.

"Kakashi, Kakashi!" Asuma was saying as he lightly shook Kakashi's shoulder. "What are you doing man, wool-gathering? I asked you how your new team was."

Kakashi, shaken out of his reminiscing of the past hour by means of a detailed play-by-play of what occurred in the classroom, had failed to hear Asuma's question the first time. He shook his head lightly and replied evenly, "I think they are all idiots."

Asuma, being Asuma, blinked and laughed out loud. Kakashi then proceeded to re-tell the events of the first meeting of his new team, including how Naruto in all of his prankster wisdom had set a "booby-trap" for him in the form of a chalk-filled eraser. Asuma, always the good sport, laughed at all the right parts and then exchanged his own story of his new team, including the unmotivated antics of Nara Shikamaru.

The conversation went on for several more minutes, but was interrupted with the appearance of Pakun near Kakashi's feet.

"Kakashi" The little dog said in his raspy voice, "The Hokage wants to see you immediately.

"Oh, did he say why?"

"No, he only said, _don't be late._ " Then Pakun disappeared with a poof.

Kakashi signed heavily, and then turned to make his excuses to the party. They all politely waved him away, Asuma even agreeing to pick up his tab with a shrug and a "You owe me one", before making his way to his meeting with the Hokage.

As he walked away from the chatting party, he felt a slight pang of, something, as he glanced back and saw that Guy had managed to capture Masumi in a polite conversation. Turning to face his destination, it didn't quite occur to him that perhaps what he felt was jealousy.

* * *

Masumi finally arrived back at her apartment about two hours after Kakashi left to meet with the Hokage. She closed her front door and leaned against the inside of it with relief. She had returned from a long mission earlier in the day, and had only paused long enough to quickly shower, change into her current outfit, and meet Kakashi for the surprise.

Now that she had a chance to look around, she was a bit dismayed to see that the apartment was in need of some serious clean-up. She blew her dark hair out of her face and decided that since Kakashi was otherwise employed, she might as well get her house in working order.

She started on some of the neglected chores and found that she actually was a bit frustrated. She understood what kind of relationship that she and Kakashi had. It had been going on for about four years this way. Never anything that others could see, never anything that others could suspect was deeper than the outward appearance of acquaintances with the same friends. But inside, Sumi was beginning to understand that she might want more. It was a pity that she didn't think Kakashi felt the same.

For a long time, the arrangement actually suited both of them just fine, but it was getting harder and harder to keep it that way. Masumi understood the rough life of a Shinobi. She understood that it was a profession that ended up with many dead, and others injured. Sometimes those injuries were physical and they healed, but sometimes they were psychological and would not be so easily mended.

Like the others at dinner, Masumi was aware of Kakashi's past. She knew him as a student at the academy; she had known him as a Genin. Like most girls, she had always found his aura mysterious and himself handsome. But unlike most girls, she had found him to be a brat as a kid. To tell the truth, his constant sense of superiority was annoying and unattractive. It wasn't until after Kakashi had lost so much, including the chip on his shoulder that he had started to catch her eye.

In fact, Kakashi hadn't seemed to like _her_ much either growing up, either. Perhaps _that_ had been the reason. That being Rin. Nohara Rin had been Masumi's best friend and cousin. Their mothers were sisters, Sumi's mother had married into the Kurama clan, while Rin's had married a man named Nohara. Born into the same year, they had done everything together, even liking most of the same things, with the exception of their feelings for Kakashi.

On their first day at the academy, Rin had seen Kakashi and had fallen. And Sumi saw the fall, honestly she didn't understand why Kakashi never had until it was too late. From then on it was Kakashi this and Kakashi that. Sumi had actually taken to hating him, through no real fault or interaction on Kakashi's part.

Then came the day that their teams had been chosen. Sumi had been paired with Guy and Aoba. Personally, she enjoyed the company of their team. They worked well together as the other two specialized in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu while Sumi's specialty was Genjutsu paired with Taijutsu. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses, even though one of the weaknesses was Guy's advances towards her.

* * *

Sumi paused in her cleaning of the kitchen sink to roll her eyes at the memory. The last time Guy had seriously tried had been during the Chunin Exams. She remembered that she had to punch him in the face to get him to take the tasks seriously, and to make it clear she wasn't interested. She grimaced at the thought as it was not one of her proudest moments.

* * *

Rin on the other hand, had been selected to join Kakashi and their third teammate, Uchiha Obito. On the day of their team assignments, Rin had been the happiest that Sumi had ever seen her. Her brown eyes had sparkled and she wouldn't stop talking about it for a month. Surprisingly, even though Obito was an Uchiha that never got in the way of Rin and Sumi liking him, despite the history between their different clans. It wasn't something that Sumi liked to think about and had not told anyone about it.

Sumi could understand her cousin's excitement, but she could also not help but be irritated. It seemed to Sumi at the time that Kakashi had taken over Rin's world and at least to Sumi, that point in their lives needed to be taken up by training. Their lives literally depended on it.

The Third Great Ninja War was being waged and because of it, many aspects of their training as Genin were accelerated. Then came the fateful day that Obito was killed. A shiver ran through Sumi's spine at the thought. Rin had been inconsolable, despite the tension between the Uchiha and the Kurama clans; she had grown close to him. She had known deep down that Obito felt similar feelings for Rin that Rin had felt for Kakashi. Indeed, Sumi remembered that Obito would often accompany the two of them home after practice or training. Rin, to her credit, was always nice to Obito but she simply did not return his feelings. The guilt that Rin felt after his death tore her apart. And it tore Sumi apart to watch her friend in such pain.

If only Sumi had known what true pain was at that point, she may have been better prepared for what was to come. But, she had no way to prepare for it, and it had crushed her. When Rin was brought home after being captured by Hidden Rain, a great bloody whole through her middle, Sumi had felt that her insides had been torn out as well.

She had cried for days. It was the only time she had allowed Guy to hold her, completely overcome with grief that she was unable to say no. When Sumi had found out Rin's cause of death, and the one who had perpetuated it, it had taken everything she had not to kill Hatake Kakashi on the spot.

For two years after Rin's death, she did not talk or look at Kakashi. However, all that changed when she had no choice but to face him. She had been called in front of Lord Fourth at his request. She had been very nervous, but became relaxed when she saw his face. He had such a warm and welcoming presence; she wondered why she had even been worried in the first place.

He had explained her mission, if she would accept it. She was to guard his wife, the current Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails. The Fourth had explained that the seal of the Nine Tails grew to be its weakest when a female Jinchuuriki was about to give birth. As such, she would be rotating this shift with an ANBU agent. At the time, she had been very puzzled as to why she had been selected for the mission.

"Lord Fourth, I am truly honored by this request; I only wonder your reasoning for selecting me. Surly there are other, more experienced, and more talented Shinobi up for the task."

He had smiled and explained that though the Leaf Village surely did hold Shinobi like she had described, there was no one else more appropriate for the task. He explained that Sumi's talent with Genjutsu, especially the blood-line limit of the Kurama clan, would be especially helpful in this case, as was the fact that she was a female and that the Lady Kushina would appreciate it if her guards were not all gruff men.

She had laughed at his explanation and accepted the position. Little did she know that the person she would be sharing the mission with would be none other than Kakashi. After accepting the mission, Lord Fourth requested that her partner be included in the rest of the instructions.

Her partner had entered the Hokage's room wearing his ANBU mask and other equipment. At the time, Sumi had not recognized him, in fact only the silver shock of hair had been vaguely familiar. Then he unmasked himself (well, at least the ANBU mask) and it was all Sumi could do to hide the look of revulsion on her face. In fact, if she had not already agreed to the mission, she would have slapped his face right at that moment. The Lord Fourth must have noticed the tension for they were soon dismissed, with the request that their new mission begin in the morning.

* * *

Sumi paused in her labors to survey her current progress. She had spent the last two hours cleaning and dusting her apartment. She had gone through the old food in the refrigerator and made a grocery list for food she would buy the next day. She had completed three loads of laundry, and had finished repairing and sharpening her mission gear and weapons. Considering her work done for the moment, she headed to the bathroom, got ready for bed and grabbed a new book. As she settled in to read, she only made it through the first chapter before her eyes began to droop. Yawning heavily, she placed her book on her bead-side table, turned off the light and promptly went to sleep. In the last few seconds before sleep overtook her, she found herself wishing for Kakashi's presence beside her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! This story is one I started a few months ago and then came back and decided I really liked it. I added a few new things to this chapter, please let me know if you have any comments/questions/suggestions/or spot any errors!**

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Chapter 2: Loss and Gain

Sunlight streamed into Sumi's bedroom. It peaked its bright fingers in-between the cracks in the blinds, poking Sumi and asking her to rise. Sumi all at once realized that something was different. Something was not the same as when she had gone to bed hours before. She immediately tensed for several seconds before she fully realized what that difference was. The difference came in a leanly muscled arm that was draped around her waist.

Slowly, she turned her head to the right and caught sight of the person who the arm belonged to. Once the person was identified, Sumi had to smile to herself. It was rare for Kakashi to spend the night, even rarer for him to use the spare key to her apartment. She had given it to him a year before and he had only used it a total of four times. Today was obviously the fifth as she had not heard him come in, nor had she awakened when he had joined her in the bed. She closed her eyed and snuggled up against his warm chest. As a reflex, his grip on her middle tightened and pulled her closer to him.

They lay like that for several more minutes, drifting peacefully between sleep and wakefulness. Finally, Sumi's bladder got the better of her and she began to slowly extract herself from his embrace. She succeeded in removing his arm from her waist without disturbing him, slipping out from underneath the covers, and just before her bare feet hit the floor, that same arm caught her round the waist once more and pulled her back into the depths of the bed.

"Kakashi!" she squealed in surprise.

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked voice scratchy from sleep.

"I have to pee, let me go."

"No. I don't think so." He yawned and pulled her to him once more, seemingly going back to sleep.

"Yes! I have to go."

No response.

"Kakashi."

Still nothing.

"Kakashi, if you don't let me go I'll pee on you."

"Mmmm, is that one of the ideas you were alluding to yesterday?" He asked, inflecting his voice in a way that suggested it wouldn't mind something so disgusting.

"No it isn't! Now let me go or I'll beat the crap out of you." She wiggled hard against him until he finally chuckled and let her go. She huffed in response and went to the bathroom to take care of her business.

As she washed her hands, she thought about what he said. Would Kakashi actually _want_ to do something like that? Even the thought made her shiver. Of course not, he was just being perverted again. She shook her head and headed back into the bedroom to find the bed empty. Confused, she blinked around and found Kakashi suddenly in front of her.

"You know, have I told you how nice you look in your pajamas?" He asked, leaning towards her and forcing her to step back into the wall.

"Ha, well considering I am only wearing a t-shirt and underwear, it wouldn't surprise me if you thought that.

Kakashi let out a low hum in agreement. "You know, I haven't showered since yesterday."

"Oh? Well, me either."

"Ah, well how fortunate that you happen to have a fine shower just over there" he gestured with his right hand, the left pressing into the wall above her head. "Would you care to join me before I meet my little Genin for our first training session?"

Sumi smiled and batted her green eyes suggestively at the thought. "Why no, I don't believe I would mind doing that at all."

He smiled back at her in response before grabbing her around the middle and hauling her to the bathroom, making her squeal once more in surprise. He paused just long enough to turn on the water and get it to a reasonable temperature before tossing her in, clothes and all.

"Kakashi! I just washed these clothes you jerk!" She sputtered warm water at him.

"Sorry, but I thought that since they housed someone as filthy as you, they might need to be washed again." Sumi could almost see the fake heart appear over his still-masked face at this last comment and glowered at him.

Seeing her expression, Kakashi's masked smile grew in delight at her frustration and peeled off his clothes before getting into the shower after her.

"Oh I see, you can undress like a normal person, but I can't?"

"I don't have a change of clothes here, remember?" He stated gently.

"Well maybe you should start leaving at least a shirt here or something." She huffed and reached over her head to remove her now sodden t-shirt. Just as she placed the ruined cloth on the edge of the tub, she felt Kakashi's firm grasp on her breast. Knowing where he was going with this, but still determined to be upset with him, she shoved him away and busied herself with washing.

She heard Kakashi hum with a sound that was somewhere between mild irritation and amusement before he renewed his onslaught. He began by approaching her once more from behind and gently moving her long hair to place a kiss at the base of her skull.

A shiver that could only do with pleasure and not the least bit with cold, traveled down her body and hit the base of her spine. She could imagine Kakashi grinning from her response but didn't quite make it there as he continued to kiss her slightly flushed skin. His hands moved around her, pulling her gently into his tall frame. Sumi couldn't quite stifle a gasp at the attentions he was paying her.

That was the thing about Kakashi. He could play the fierce and unbridled lover, like the day before, or he could become the caring considerate romantic, which he had begun to play in that moment. Slowly, Sumi's irritation began to subside, washed down the drain with the last strains of soap that she had abandoned moments earlier.

Kakashi's fingers and mouth played with her body like a master pianist playing a well-tuned instrument. He knew exactly where to place what, and exactly how slowly—or hastily—she liked it there. His fingers massaged her breasts, playing and pulling at her sensitive nipples. This elicited gasps on her part, which quickly dissolved into moans as he sucked delicately on her neck.

Slowly, so slowly, his hands dipped lower towards her toned stomach. One arm wrapped around her waist, holding her and supporting her, while the other dipped still further. Kakashi's fingers teased around her sensitive areas for several moments, always getting closer and closer to the best part, but darting away at the last minute.

Finally, Sumi couldn't take it anymore and leaned fully back into him, groaning as his hand finally struck the sweet spot. His fingers, by this time wetter with more than water, dipped in and out of Sumi with speed and knowledge. They swirled around and around until she was so close she couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, at the last moment, he stopped.

Gasping heavily, she turned her head to give him the most pitiful expression. "…w-why did you…stop?"

"Because I wanted to see your face when you finish." He grabbed her waist just above her belly button, turned her to face him, and then kneeled at the bottom of the tub. Sumi actually had to muffle a scream for what came next.

"K-kakashi…mmmm!" she wined as she was brought closer and closer towards her end by his tongue. Finally, he brought her to the end, and was rewarded by an actual scream, needing to hold her steady as waves of pleasure wracked through her body.

Rising to his full height from his kneeled position, he grabbed the raven-haired woman and pulled her tightly to himself, allowing her to finish shaking and catch her breath.

"Good?" He asked in his obnoxious way, the way that said he already knew the answer.

In response, Sumi shot him a wicked grin and paid him back in kind. She grabbed onto his erection, already well past interested, and began to run her hand softly over its length. Kakashi's eye opened wide at her actions, the other still covered by his hita-aki. He moaned softly as she made her way down to the floor of the tub. Sumi continued her actions and ministrations, alternating between her hands and her mouth until it was Kakashi's turn to groan and shake from his climax.

Then breathing hard, he kneeled down to join Sumi in the bottom of the tub. "See? I told you…absolutely filthy."

* * *

Sumi was toweling herself off from their shower excursion when she took a look for the first time at the clock on the wall. _Hmm, 10:30,_ she thought. "Kakashi what time were you going to meet your team, do you have time for some breakfast?"

"Ohh, well I think we said 10:00am sharp." He mused while rubbing his masked chin in thought.

"10:00! Kakashi, you are already late!" Sumi chided him. "Why did you suggest taking a shower if you knew what time it was?"

"Do you regret it?" He fixed her with such a mournful expression that she had to laugh.

"Of course not, but I think you should get going, you don't want to keep them waiting longer than you already have."

" _Sigh,_ yes mother." He finished dressing, pulled down his mask enough to give her a long, lingering kiss, and then trotted out the door.

"What a weird man" Sumi said to herself.

* * *

Kakashi walked at a leisurely pace towards the agreed-upon meeting place of his young teammates. He whistled softly to himself, knowing that he would have to make his usual detour to the monument that he made every morning. He chuckled to himself as he relived the memories of the last fifteen hours or so.

Sumi was one of the only people he felt truly comfortable with. In fact, when he wasn't at the monument, he often found himself adrift and distracted, except when he was with her. He smiled as he remembered that there was a time when it was nothing like that between them.

The first time that Kakashi had shown any interest in Kurama Masumi was when they had been assigned the same mission that they were required to complete as partners. They were to guard Lord Fourth's wife, Uzumaki Kushina.

Kakashi paused in his thoughts as he always did when he thought about sensei and Kushina. Even now, twelve years after their deaths, he still missed them both terribly. Kushina, though never his teacher, was almost like his adopted mother. Therefore, when Lord Fourth had shared this new mission, he had taken it very seriously.

Which was why he had been very resentful to share the responsibility with another Shinobi. Especially _her._

Masumi, it had taken him years to use the shortened version of her name, was someone who made him uncomfortable at that time. Not just because she _obviously_ hated him, but because she reminded him of Rin. It wasn't that she looked like her or anything, actually, with Masumi's black hair and striking eyes, she didn't look to be related to Rin at all. It was simply that she and Rin were always together, even at the academy.

The cousins who were also best friends were inseparable. He had known that most of the girls at school liked him when he was younger and to be honest, he found it to be annoying. Didn't they know a war was being waged and that thinking of love or romance or whatever would only get them killed? Either way, a sad twist of fate made it so that Nohara Rin was on his team, and as a result, he often had Masumi glaring after him.

Now Rin was a nice person, but also skilled as a kunoichi. But Kakashi noticed her cousin, was not only more skilled, but seemed to have no romantic interest in him at all. He remembered several times wishing that Rin was on Masumi's team and vice-versa. It wasn't that he hadn't _liked_ Rin as a person, but their awkward love triangle along with Obito who had obviously loved Rin, caused them multiple issues when on missions. In fact, he had asked Minato-sensei as he was called at the time, to switch. Minato-sensei had of course refused and encouraged Kakashi to _work it out._

Even so, it had all changed once his teammates, his friends, were gone. So deep was he in his depression that he hadn't noticed that Masumi was avoiding him. It wasn't until he had seen her, two years after Rin's death in Lord Fourth's office that he realized he hadn't seen her even once. And after that first meeting, it was clear that Masumi blamed Kakashi for Rin's death.

This terrible fact still ate at Kakashi, even after their relationship had evolved to the point it was now. He still sometimes worried that Sumi still hated him deep down. Overall though, he could say that it was a ridiculous thought to have.

He rounded the corner and the monument came into full-view. He had stopped at the Yaminaka flower shop as he did every morning to get flowers for Obito and Rin. Sometimes Sumi would come with him, always a "surprise" meeting, and sometimes she would come before, already having laid fresh flowers to honor her best friend. Today there were no fresh flowers but Kakashi suspected that she would come to visit after she settled in from being away for her two-week mission.

He remembered the first time he had ever seen her at this spot. It had been a few days after their joint mission had been assigned and outlined. He was sitting next to the stone, for all intents and purposes invisible unless you rounded the corner and specifically looked at the ground. Like usual, he had been unable to sleep, plagued with nightmares of Rin's death and his broken promise to Obito. He was zoning off into space when he heard the grass crunch beneath sandaled feet.

He had been about to stand up when he heard the sound of someone crying. He froze, unsure of revealing himself less he make the crying person cry more or startle them. He peaked slowly around the stone to see none other than Masumi, crying softly and laying pink lilies on the ground. Kakashi, sure that he was intruding at this point, turned the opposite way and made to leave as silently as possible when her voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey there girl." She had said, her voice wracked with heavy emotion. Such sorrow that she poured out in those three words nearly broke the little pieces of Kakashi's already shattered heart.

"I wanted to share some news with you," she continued, her voice stronger as the words flowed, "You will be so jealous and you won't believe it, but I have a mission with that jerk of yours Kakashi."

Kakashi winced, did she have to say jerk?

"I know, I promise I won't fall in love with him, you saw him first. I just wanted to let you know so you didn't have to hear it from anyone else." Kakashi heard a rustling sound and then a plump that must have been Masumi lowering herself to sit in front of the monument.

"It's been a long time since I've visited, but to tell you the truth I haven't felt much like talking to anyone. I spoke with Lord Fourth, you know, Minato-sensei? I asked him if he could assign someone else, even though he made it clear I was perfect for the mission. He asked me why and I t-told him…", at this point her tears had renewed and she had to pause and blow her nose, "I told him that I wouldn't be able to work with the man who killed you."

At those words, all the blood in Kakashi's body had turned to ice. Yes, he had been the one who had punched a hole in Rin's chest with his Chidori, but, she had been the one who had put herself there. He rose to his feet once more and turned to go only to have her words stop him again.

"But Lord Fourth, he set me straight. You see, I never had the whole story. Rin-chan, I had no idea these last two years what had happened that night. I had no idea what the Hidden Mist had done to you. What they had placed inside of you. I know that you begged Kakashi to kill you, in order to protect the village, our families, and me. I know that Kakashi had refused, after coming all the way to rescue you. He thought that if he got you back to the Village that we could have saved you. But you knew better. As a result, you tricked Kakashi into….into what he did." Kakashi could see that Masumi couldn't say what he had done.

"So Rin, after all this time, ever since we were little, I think I finally understand why you loved Kakashi. I can't say that I will ever _like_ him. He might be handsome if anyone could get a look at his face. But I promise that I will respect him, for what he did for you, even though it was the last thing he would have wanted to do."

Following this, Kakashi wasn't sure long he had sat there, unable to move, unable to think, barely able to breathe thanks to the tears that ran, unstoppable, down his face. He assumed that Masumi must have left at some point, but Kakashi had remained in his spot for hours. He, for the first time since Rin's death, felt that some, very small, part of his actions had been forgiven. And for him, it had been the first step to forgiving himself as much as he ever could.

From that point on, the two had fulfilled their mission for Lord Fourth flawlessly and even cordially. Though, in order for their relationship to progress past the point of tolerance, they both had to lose something more.

* * *

Masumi had finished her errands for the day which included going to the market, paying her rent and several other bills, checking her mail, along with a various assortment of other tasks. Overall, she was feeling quite satisfied concerning her progress and was looking forward to a quiet night at home. She rounded the last corner before she came to her street when she suddenly crossed paths with Kurenai.

"Oh Sumi-san, fancy meeting you here!" Kurenai greeted as her red eyes flashed with pleasure.

"Ah, yes, it's good to see you too, how is your day going?"

"Pretty well, say we never had the chance to completely catch-up last night, are you free?"

"Oh well I'm just finishing up some errands I neglected over the past few weeks, but I should be pretty free in about another hour or two."

"Perfect! Me and Anko-chan were going to go out for drinks, interested?"

"Sure, what time?"

"Seven at the usual spot?"

"Sounds great, see you there."

 _Well, so much for a quiet night at home,_ Sumi thought ironically to herself. She continued on her way after waving good-bye to Kurenai, completing her journey by bounding up the last few steps to her apartment. She took out her key, mentally steeling herself for engaging in social interaction for a few hours. _Why can't I ever get a break?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Something More

Masumi hastily put away the groceries and other items before running into the bathroom and attempting to made herself ready for a 'girl's night out'. Kurenai had asked that she meet her and Anko at a bar in one hour, and Masumi had some work to do to make that happen.

Now, it wasn't that Sumi didn't enjoy dressing up, case in point the little surprise she had cooked up for Kakashi the day before, but she had never been one to get especially fancy over going to a bar. However, knowing Kurenai, if Sumi didn't at least try, the first thing her friend would do when she got there would be to pull her into the bathroom and fix her up herself.

Sumi chuckled at the eccentric efforts of her dear friend. Though Kurenai had a knack for looking hot at all times, Sumi knew that when they went out it was all in case they ran into Asuma. She grinned at herself in the mirror as she attempted to train her thick hair into some sort of order. She finally managed to place it into a design which left her bottom layer down her back with the top half into some sort of knot.

She moved deftly from the bathroom into her bedroom in order to choose an outfit that was suitable. After checking out several different options and discarding each one, she selected a shorter black dress which was also nicely cut in the front. She put it on and took one last look at herself before she exited her apartment.

She walked quickly knowing that she would already be fifteen minutes late to the bar. Briefly as she passed the street which Kakashi lived on, and wondered what he was up to. He hadn't asked to see her later after they had had their fun so she assumed he was either home alone or out with his friends. Either way, she tried to convince herself it didn't matter what he was doing. She picked up her pace, inwardly annoyed at herself for being so 'girly'.

She arrived at the bar at 7:20, only slightly later than what she had promised Kurenai. She walked into the bar, arm raised to ward off the awning in the front. Sumi scanned the room, a questioning look on her face before she spotted both Kurenai and Anko.

"Hi ladies! So sorry that I'm so late."

"No worries Sumi-chan! Though I must say that you are becoming more and more like Kakashi." Anko stated in a teasing voice.

"W-what do you mean?" Sumi replied suddenly wary, did they know?

"Well it's so unlike you to be so late!" Anko slapped her shoulder, clearly both teasing and also slightly intoxicated.

"Oh! Well, you know, I just got back from my long mission. I wanted to make sure everything was taken care of so I can goof off with you two!" Sumi finished lamely in an attempt to hide her surprise over Anko's comment.

Kurenai grinned at her response before replying, "Of course! We understand, right Anko-chan? Anyway, it doesn't matter because here you are." She took a long swig from the sake bottle, totally ignoring her cup.

Sumi sighed, it was going to be one of those nights, huh? Smiling, she herself took a swig from the sake bottle. Kurenai hooted in laughter at Sumi's imitation of her earlier action.

The three Kunoichi laughed and shared both stories and drink for the next several hours, each enjoying the simple pleasure of company and alcohol. As the evening grew later, they decided to head to another bar, this time one that allowed dancing.

"Woo!" Anko screeched as they entered the bar. Sumi had to acknowledge that as embarrassing as Anko's drunk-self was, at least no one else could hear it over the thrum of the speaker system.

Sumi scanned the area in order to take in not only the layout of the place, but also, in case she spotted a certain silver shock of hair. After deciding finally that Kakashi was not in this bar, Sumi silently scolded herself for even hoping.

"Come on!"

Suddenly, Sumi felt herself being dragged onto the dance floor by the other two Kunoichi as a popular song began to play. Though she wasn't much for dancing, the several drinks of sake did much to loosen her usual reserve. So much so that after several moments, she found that she could successfully wiggle her hips and tap her feet in time to the beat. As she whirled in place, she remembered one of her favorite memories of dancing.

* * *

"Sumi-chan! Let's dance!" Smiling her cute smile, Rin twirled in her new dress as Sumi watched, one that she had specifically gotten to impress her brand-new teammates. Sumi grinned at her cousin's delight, simply happy to see her so happy.

They were walking down the streets of Konaha, dusk silently settling at their feet. Rin and Sumi had passed the Chunin exam with flying colors and Rin had insisted that they go shopping. The two were on their way home when Rin had made her suggestion.

"No…it's late and we both have early missions tomorrow."

"But you never want to dance Sumi-chan! Even when we don't have missions!" Her face melted into an adorable pout.

Exasperated, and unable to say no, Sumi had given in, and the two had spent over an hour wiggling and shaking to some unheard music until they were gasping for air due to both the exercise and due to their own laughter at how ridiculous they looked. Rin had grabbed Sumi's hand and the two had headed towards home together.

* * *

Sumi smiled sadly. Her memories of that night were so vivid that if she closed her eyes she could almost feel Rin's hand in her own. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she looked down to see an actual hand grabbing hers, and it certainly wasn't Rin's.

She looked up to see the face attached to the hand was someone she didn't know. Slightly panicked, she looked around the bar in hopes of spying Anko or Kurenai, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Hey there sweetheart…I saw the way you were dancing and I just knew you needed a partner." The man drawled right in Sumi's face and her own wrinkled in disgust at the obvious level of intoxication that the man displayed.

"N-no thanks, I'm here with my friends and I need to get back to them." She made to turn away, but the man's hand tightened like a vice on her wrist. Sumi flinched at the sudden pressure, knowing at once that this man wasn't just a simple and stupid drunk civilian. His grip screamed Shinobi. Instantly her senses sharpened and she readied herself for a fight.

"I said…it looks like you could use a partner." His voice relayed a subtle threat towards Sumi. "Unless you have a boyfriend or something." His face turned into a sickening smile as if he somehow knew she didn't.

Thinking quickly, Sumi went through several different options from giving into his request to punching him straight in the face. She had almost decided on the punch when another, much gentler hand, was placed on her shoulder.

She looked up in surprise to see a too-familiar masked face above her left shoulder.

"Everything alright here, dear?" Kakashi said with his signature eye-crinkle towards Sumi, while at the same time managing to send a non-too subtle threat towards the stranger.

"Just fine, actually. The lady and I were about to share a dance." The man said, sending threats right back at Kakashi, and at the same time, increasing his grip on Sumi's wrist and pulling her slightly towards him.

"No, I think you must be mistaken because she is here with me." Kakashi said, still smiling, inserted himself between Sumi and the stranger, effectively causing him to lose his grip on her arm. The two men sized each other up, Kakashi, all smiles, the other man, glaring daggers.

"Tch, fine, she wasn't that hot to begin with." He stated lamely and then left the two stranded in the middle of the dance floor.

"You know, I was about to take care of that myself" Sumi said good-naturedly though still implying gratitude towards Kakashi.

"I know, it was more out of protection for him." Kakashi chuckled. "Besides," he said as he leaned into her ear, "I can't blame the bastard for trying."

"Ha, I can. By the way, do you know where Anko and Kurenai are? I came here with them." Sumi began looking around for her friends in earnest now that the creep was gone.

"Oh, well…I came here with Asuma."

"Ohh." Sumi said knowingly. "Unlike you two to go to a dance club." She commented offhandedly.

"True, but what makes you think it was my idea?" He stated back innocently.

"I never said it was. If I had to guess, Asuma and Kurenai planned this so they could 'accidently' run into one another."

"Hmm…smart and beautiful" Kakashi whispered again.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were intoxicated Kakashi."

"Hmm…" was the only reply.

Sumi grabbed him by the hand at this point in the conversation and began to drag him through the gyrating crowd into the bar. As soon as they cleared the last few drunken fools, she spotted two more. Asuma and Kurenai were chatting away at the bar while Anko had found herself another Shinobi to talk to. Taking in the scene, Sumi looked questioningly to Kakashi and shrugged her shoulders a bit.

Kakashi, used to her signals by now simply nodded in agreement. She approached Kurenai and gently tapped her on her shoulder to bring her out of her revelry. She quickly explained that she was tired from her mission and that Kakashi had gallantly agreed to walk her home. Kurenai waved at the two of them before turning back to her overly-engaging conversation with Asuma.

Quietly, the two exited the bar and began to walk towards the direction of their respective houses. Once they were out into the street, Sumi let out a loud sign of relief.

"That bad, was it?" Kakashi smiled in amusement.

"You know I can't stand loud places." Came Sumi's measured reply.

"That I do, so I wonder why you even agreed to go."

"Well, for one, everything seems like a good idea when you are drunk. And two, Kurenai and Anko insisted"

"Ahh…being too nice again?" He teased her.

"Sort of…though I have to admit it was actually fun for a little while." She blushed delicately at the memory of Rin. How she missed her.

Kakashi, catching sight of her blush, frowned a little. But continued walking without comment.

"By the way, how did you manage to find me in all those bodies?"

"Oh, well. Kurenai mentioned that she came here with you right before she got sucked into Asuma, and I figured that you wouldn't have left without letting them know you were leaving, so I assumed you were dancing. Also," she looked at him questioningly, "That guy was wrong."

"About what?" She said confused.

Suddenly, Kakashi grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her into the nearest alley. He pressed her against the wall and tugged down his mask in one fell swoop.

"You _are_ that hot to begin with." He said, and kissed her.

Sumi, very surprised at his actions almost forgot to respond to his searing kiss. Almost. The moment he touched her, she felt as if her skin was burning. It was always that way. Whenever they were together, they couldn't get enough of each other. But, Sumi had to admit, Kakashi had been more possessive than usual over the last forty-eight hours. And for him to make a move, in the middle of the village? That was very odd.

With great effort, she broke away from the kiss and managed to look Kakashi right in the eye. "Kakashi, you know I don't mind this, but we are in the middle of the street."

"Well, technically we are in the alley." He said as he held his chin in thought as to her point.

"Sure, but still, someone could see us." She scolded him. "We both agreed that we wanted to keep this as low-key as possible."

"Hmm…I do see to recall that conversation."

"You should, it was your idea."

"Was it?"

"…Yes."

"Well, in that case, I guess we need to get home as soon as possible." And with that he scooped Sumi up and flickered back to his apartment as fast as his chakra would allow.

* * *

As the morning light stretched its delicate fingers past the blinds in Kakashi's bedroom, they also hit his face like a ton of bricks. He groaned softly, shifting his position to fit Sumi's sleeping form. He drifted for a few minutes, then decided that falling back to sleep was not possible.

He sat up, careful not to disturb her. He took a moment to admire her, so sweet when sleeping, so sexy when awake. It was a powerful combination. He sat back against the headboard, simply enjoying the peace of the moment and allowed his thoughts to wander to the night before.

He and Asuma had agreed to spend the night playing Shogi, when Asuma had offhandedly suggested they make the rounds at the local bars. It was well into their third game and Kakashi was getting bored anyway, so he figured why not? Plus, Kakashi could tell by the way that Asuma had suggested it that he was probably meeting Kurenai.

When they got to the bar, Kakashi was put off by the loud music. He would have much preferred to spend the later hours of the evening at home with a good book, or with a good partner. He had grinned at the thought. They had sauntered over to the bar and Asuma at once spied Kurenai and Anko on the dance floor. He hailed them over, ( _that slick bastard),_ and then at once engaged Kurenai in conversation.

Anko and Kakashi had exchanged a few pleasantries, but Anko had eventually wandered off as well once she had spied an old friend, leaving Kakashi to sit awkwardly at the bar by himself. He was about to pull out Icha Icha Paradise when Kurenai had leaned over and said, "Sumi-chan is still out on the dance floor, why don't you pull her out and get a drink?"

Casually, oh so casually, he had nodded to her, and made his way into the crowd. He had looked around for a few moments before he spotted her, and he then wondered how he ever could have missed her. She was wearing a magnificent black dress which hugged her frame and made her look absolutely beautiful. Kakashi had stood there and blinked rather stupidly as he watched her rock in time to the music, smile on her face, absorbed in the moment.

He was about to grab her hand and let her know of his presence when it was suddenly intercepted by that creep. It was a singular moment when Kakashi hadn't exactly known what had come over him. He had suddenly become irrationally angry with this stranger touching Sumi. Let along the fact that for some insane reason, he appeared to be hurting her.

It was that irrational feeling that caused him to confront the man in so public of a way. Normally he would have preferred to do something subtle, behind the scenes, but he felt the need for this man to know that Sumi was spoken for.

Luckily, the incident passed without bloodshed (not that he would have minded), and Sumi and he were able to go back to his place and spend the night in peaceful, sexy, bliss. He smiled lightly at that happy memory.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as Sumi roused herself beside him. "Oh, were you already awake?" She asked him sleepily.

"It would seem so." He said with his signature eye smile.

"You know, I think it's still a little odd that you sleep with your mask on."

"Hmm, but it preserves the mystery so well."

"Ha, if you say so. Do you know what time it is?" She asked as she stretched and tried to spy the clock on the chest of drawers on the far wall.

"Just a little after nine."

"Oh that's perfect. I was going to meet Guy and Aoba for lunch. What are you doing today?"

Kakashi surprised himself at a slight pang of discomfort upon her mention of Guy and Aoba. "I'm meeting my team for morning training."

"…Kakashi, what time were you supposed to meet your team?"

"Eight." He said very innocently.

"You are incredible!" And he got a pillow to the face for all of his trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Chapter 4 is up! I had a little trouble writing this one because generally dialogue isn't my strong point. However, practice makes perfect. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading and for the support!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Past is Present

Sumi exited Kakashi's house, being careful not to let anyone see her, and made her way back to her apartment. She chuckled at the fact that Kakashi's antics never seemed to get old. He was always late, for everything! She became lost in thought and her feet seemed to steer themselves, and before she knew it she was right in front of the old monument honoring those lost defending Konoha.

Sighing, Sumi made her usual rounds visiting Rin, Obito and of course Lord Fourth and Kushina. She stopped longer at Lord Fourth's monument, taking a few deep breaths. She remembered Minato quite fondly, even though he hadn't been her sensei. She reflected and thought that in a way, he had actually been everyone's sensei, and to her, something like a big brother.

* * *

It had been eight months since Sumi had been assigned to the mission with Kakashi and it was clear: she still disliked him. The stupid way he always acted aloof, like he was better than everyone else. The stupid way he kept his face almost completely covered so in the end all she could see was one stupid eye. And the stupid way he was always so nice to her, like somehow he knew that she had forgiven him, though she had never said it to his face. She ground her teeth in frustration. The two were currently stationed outside of Lord Forth and Kushina's house. She could hear Kushina humming a sweet song on the other side of the wall as she prepared lunch.

Of course Lord Fourth was at work, he was the Hokage after all, and Kushina had been at home completing domestic chores. Sumi was sitting outside of one of the windows when suddenly she was startled out of her thoughts by the person she was guarding.

"Hey Sumi-chan! Are you hungry?" Kushina smiled good-naturedly at her with her head stuck out of the window.

"Um, no, not—" she was cut off by her stomach growling loudly, oh well, it was lunchtime.

"Come on in and get it while it's hot!" Her head disappeared into the house, but Sumi still caught the fox-like grin as the red head retreated.

Sumi followed Kushina through the window, but froze when she noticed that Kushina, being Kushina, had also invited Kakashi to the meal. He sat at the table, blankly staring at her with his one eye.

The two sized each other up, Kakashi being the first one to break eye-contact as he turned his attention to the steaming bowl of ramen that Kushina had placed in front of him just moments before.

Sumi, bristled and readied herself for a several comebacks should the idiot try to engage her in conversation, decided to join the two of them at their meal. The three ate in silence.

"So how is your mission going you two?" Kushina asked after a while.

"It's been fine." Sumi answered modestly while taking a break from her bowl.

"I haven't had any problems" Kakashi replied at the exact same time as Sumi. They glared at each other while Kushina signed heavily between them.

"Alright, what's the problem, you know?"

"What do you mean?" The two younger Shinobi asked too quickly.

"It's been eight months since Minato assigned you both to this mission, and I barely get you two in the same room without fur flying, you know?" As Kushina continued to talk, Sumi could see she was getting excited, which worried her since she was so close to the due date.

"What is it going to take for you too to get along? I mean, you are going to be a big brother and sister soon, you know?!" She had stood up by this point, red hair flying around, but it was her last statement that threw Sumi for a loop.

Sure, Sumi loved Kushina and Lord Forth, but she had never considered the fact that she might be a big sister figure to their baby.

Kakashi signed deeply, sat back from his meal and pointed one thumb at Sumi as if he were hitchhiking. "I'll get along with her when she gets along with me." He said while managing to look as bored as he sounded.

Sumi frowned at him, "I don't try _not_ to get along with you!"

Kakashi looked at her but didn't respond.

"Hmm…I know! Why don't you two go on a date?" Kushina suggested brightly.

Sumi, so thrown off by the suggestion that she immediately turned red and was quite unable to say anything in response.

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow and simply said, "…why?".

"You know, not like a romantic date, just get to know each other. After all you have so much in common!"

"Like what?" Sumi said, warry.

"Well, you are both high-level Shinobi, you have similar taste in food and you both dislike most people, you know?"

"I don't dislike most people." Sumi replied, slightly offended.

"Ha, she has a point." Kakashi smirked to himself.

"I don't dislike most people!" Sumi fumed, the red tinge appearing once more upon Kakashi's last statement.

"Well, why don't you have a boyfriend then?" Kushina asked less than delicately.

Sumi's face, by this point a true blush, turned even redder. She stood up from the table, grabbed her cloak that she had tossed carelessly on the couch and exited the apartment, Kushina's cries of "only teasing you know!" echoing desperately after her.

She made it halfway down the street when a hand caught her wrist.

Surprised, she turned around to see the masked face of the person who annoyed her most in the world: Kakashi.

"What do you want?" She said, her voice breaking a little more than she would have liked.

"Just wanted to ask where you were stationing yourself for the afternoon shift" he replied innocently, withdrawing his hand from her wrist as soon as she has turned.

"The south side, as usual." She turned her face away so that Kakashi couldn't see how uncomfortable the previous conversation had made her. It wasn't that she didn't like people, no; in fact it was quite the opposite. Despite how much Sumi actually tried, it was actually other people who ended up not liking her.

Kushina's question concerning her love life had ended up poking Sumi like a white hot rod through her chest. Sure, Sumi knew that her looks usually ended up attracting men, but they had never attracted anyone she was truly interested in dating.

An excellent example of this was her teammate, Guy. He was a sweet and strong man, as he had been a sweet and strong boy. But he was never someone she could see herself dating. When Rin died he had been a great source of comfort for her, holding her as she cried when she heard the news, but she never wanted more than that. And she never wanted to give him the wrong idea either, so she always kept a respectful distance.

"I'll take the north then." Kakashi said, his voice bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Oh! Okay, sounds good." She turned to walk away before his hand on her wrist stopped her for a second time.

"Or, we could scout together for a few hours, watch the perimeter." He said it so casually that it took a moment for Sumi to get what he was asking. In all the months that they had guarded Kushina, they had never scouted together.

"I'm not going on a date with you." She said with a frown, her arms folded in front of her.

"I'm not asking you to. But you know, Kushina has a point, we really don't know much about each other."

"Yes we do, we went to the academy together, you and one of my teammates are bitter rivals, your old teammate was my cousin." Her voice broke on the last example but she sucked down her feelings and carried on.

"Yeah, but do you know what kind of books I like?"

"…Do I want to know what kind of books you like?" Sumi asked him dubiously. She had seen a few books over the last months that seemed to be his choice reading material, and for a moment she was offended that he seemed to be suggesting that she be interested in written pornography.

"I don't know, but we have been on this mission for months and you don't know that. Seems to me that if something were to happen that a little teamwork might not be a bad idea."

"I guess, but I think it's odd that you bring this up when Kushina is bound to give birth in a few weeks. Why the sudden interest?"

"Well, better late than never." His last statement was so sincere that Sumi had to chuckle. It was getting harder and harder not to totally dislike Kakashi, damn it.

"…Are you sure?" She asked skepticism obvious in her tone.

"Sure. After all, we are almost done with our assignment like you said and the baby will be here in another few weeks. It wouldn't be terrible for us to get to know each other since we ae going to be a big sister and brother soon."

"Alright, makes sense I guess." She said, resigned to her fate.

The two continued their scouting together that day, which turned into scouting together the next day, and the one after that as well. Before either of them realized it, they were scouting and guarding together for a few weeks, and it was actually not terrible. Then finally the day arrived when Kushina went into labor.

Sumi was washing vegetables for lunch in Kushina's kitchen while Kushina herself was taking a nap on the couch, her rounded belly slowly rising and falling in time with her breath. Kakashi was sitting at the kitchen table, leafing through a magazine which Lord Fourth had left there when he left a few hours beforehand.

Sumi finished drying the vegetables and transferred them to the cutting board. She raised a sharp paring knife and was about to begin chopping them for the stew when Kushina's sudden cry of surprise startled her to the point that she sliced into her own fingers.

"Ahh!" She cried both from pain and from alarm.

At once Kakashi was up next to her, wrapping her cut in a paper towel, while at the same time scanning the area, looking for the reason that Kushina had cried out.

"Is everyone alright, what's going on?" He asked calmly, but tense as a wound top.

"I'm fine, just a small cut, Kushina are you alright?" Sumi asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm f—oww!" She cried again, this time clutching her massive belly.

Kakashi materialized by her side, Sumi on the other, both assessing with their rudimentary medical skills that the reason Kushina was in pain was due to the fact that she was beginning to go into labor.

"Are you sure?" Kushina asked the two, clearly scared and not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"Positive, in fact all that we need to have now is—"he had bent down to examine the floor by Kushina's feet when all of the sudden his left arm from his hand to his shoulder were drenched with fluid.

"—to have your water break." He deadpanned.

Kushina and Sumi, caught somewhere between hilarity and horror met each other's eyes and began to shake with surprised laughter.

Kakashi sent them both a death-glare with his one visible eye, which nevertheless was formidable enough to cause the two women's humor to break open into obvious, breathtaking laughter. Both shaking, tears running down both their faces, ushered a truly pissed Kakashi into the bathroom, assuring him that he had time to 'freshen' up before Kushina needed to meet the birthing team.

As soon as he did, Sumi asked him to send a shadow clone over to Lord Fourth. The three left the house, Sumi and Kakashi supporting Kushina from both sides, and were intercepted by the Fourth Hokage, as well as the wife of the Third Hokage.

"Oh! Kushina, are you alright?" Lord Forth asked his wife anxiously.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks to these two." She beamed at Kakahi and Sumi.

"Thanks so much, both of you for your hard work, as soon as the baby comes we will send for you, okay?" Lord Forth ruffled Kakashi's hair and patted Sumi on the head before running after his pregnant wife and soon-to-be mother of his child.

Sumi and Kakashi stood there for a few minutes, neither saying anything, both too happy for words. Finally, it was Kakashi who chose to break the silence.

"We should take another look at your hand."

"What? Oh, its fine." Sumi said, trying to brush it off.

"It really isn't its bleeding through the paper towel." He said, pointing to the few drops of blood that had collected by her sandaled foot.

"Ah! In all the excitement, I really didn't notice." She unwrapped the hastily bond wound and flinched when she realized that the knife had cut two of her fingers right down to the bone.

"Yeah, that is actually pretty bad. Let's get you to the hospital." Kakashi turned in that direction, giving Sumi very little chance to argue. Little did they know, that wouldn't be the only time they would visit the hospital that day.

* * *

Matsumi straightened up and stretched her long arms over her head. She had been reminiscing for far too long, and as a result would be a few minutes late meeting Guy and Aoba for lunch.

She hurried through the busy streets of the village, pausing only to catch her breath before heading into the restaurant. She scanned the booths before spying the members of her old team. She sat down on the right side of the booth, the two men sharing a seat next to one another as was their usual arrangement.

"Hi! So sorry I'm late." Sumi grinned at them.

"No worries, my dear Sumi! We are simply glad to see you!" Was Guy's energetic answer. He stood up to give her a hug which she dodged with as much grace as she could before sitting down.

"Yeah, no big deal, I was just waiting for both of you." Aoba stated jokingly, though Sumi suspected that it was in fact true that he had gotten there first due to the fact that it had been so long since the three of them had gotten together.

Sumi sat back and allowed herself to become entrenched in the familiar scene of dialogue between the three of them. After so many years as genin, chunin and then jounin, the three were very close. In fact, the only odd strain they had ever experienced was Guy's undying love for her, and her consistent refusal of her feelings. The three chatted for several hours, Guy sharing about the constant accomplishments of his team of genin which he had been with for over a year, while Aoba and Sumi exchanged old war stories.

She reflected back during the conversation over what Kushina had stated, so many years ago: that Sumi didn't like people. Well, it was clear that of all the people in the world, very few knew the real Sumi. She tended to be shy and disliked becoming attached to others. This had been true ever since she lost Rin. Choosing instead to devote herself to the art of ninjitsu, so that she wouldn't suffer the same fate. Most considered her to be too serious and too tough for a girl. As a result, she was paired with these two strange boys. Something for which she had always been grateful.

Finally, lunch wrapped up with Guy leaving first in order to catch an afternoon practice with his thee genin, which left Aoba and Sumi to leave together and begin the walk home. The two walked in silence at first, simply enjoying one another's company.

"You seem down, Sumi-chan." Aoba remarked off-handedly. "Something up with Kakashi?"

Sumi jumped slightly, her heart beating uncomfortably at the sound of Kakashi's name. She had told Aoba of their relationship about a year ago, in fact, he was the only one she had told. She suspected that Asuma knew, but wasn't sure if Kakashi had actually told him outright.

Aoba was the one person Sumi trusted besides Kakashi, but it was unlike him to ask such personal questions with no preamble.

"No, everything's fine, same-old-same-old. Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason," he frowned as though he didn't even understand why he had asked, "I suppose I was just wondering if you two were official yet. It's been a few years."

"Why would we be official? Kakashi and I knew going into this that we wouldn't develop into anything serious. Come on, you know as well as I do that the danger for a Shinobi to enter into a serious relationship is too high. No after all of the people we have lost."

"I guess, but the third war is over now. We have peace and you and Kakashi could live a long and happy life together. If it's what you want." He stated this remark as he looked over at Sumi in a pointed sort of way. "Do you want that?"

"Aoba! You ask so many strange questions! Enough about me, how are you doing?" She stated flippantly, trying to laugh off the discomfort she felt by turning it around on him.

Aoba thought knew her tricks and wouldn't let her slip out of his grasp. "Don't avoid the question."

"…I'm not sure." She said lamely while avoiding his eyes.

"What does that even mean?" damn him and his persistence.

"It means I don't know what I want. I mean, I like Kakashi, I like spending time together and doing things together and I get lonely when I don't see him…but those are my feelings. I mean, I have no idea how _he_ feels."

"Why not ask?"

"I can't do that you idiot! What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if I make it awkward and then he won't want to be with me at all in any capacity?"

"Well, then he would be the idiot." Aoba grinned his last response at Sumi. The man could be cute when he wasn't being so headstrong.

"That's for the support. I just don't know if I want to find out the answer just yet."

"Well, no matter the answer, I'll be here." He stated this so simply that Sumi had to choke back the emotion that welled up in her chest. Yes, no matter what, she wouldn't be alone again. She sped up her stride to match Aoba, her friend and teammate. Yes, she wouldn't lose another precious person.


	5. Chapter 5

**Woo! Chapter 5! Sorry this took a week longer than I thought. I recently started a new job so the last few weeks have been challenging to get any writing done. No worries though, it'll be back to the regular weekly update soon! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Talk

Kakashi was on his way to Sumi's house, and though internally, he was excited for the visit, you would never know it just by looking at him. He plodded along, hands in his pockets, typical bored expression on his face. Mind wandering to other topics to make the journey go faster.

It had been an interesting few months with his new team. After a rocky start the training had begun to come together nicely. He reflected that all-in-all they had some real talent, especially Sasuke, though Sakura had tremendous potential with chakra control. Naruto…well, he was a late bloomer to be sure, but he had the Will of Fire, of that there was no doubt.

Kakashi smiled to himself as he walked down the street. The team had completed several D-rank missions and soon they would be embarking out on their first C-rank mission to the Land of Waves. The Hokage had assigned the mission after multiple interruptions and nagging from the blonde-haired genin to have harder missions assigned. The four-man squad would be escorting a bridge building to the Land of Waves.

Kakashi was actually looking forward to getting out of the village; he hadn't been on a mission since before he was assigned his new team. His feet continued, totally disconnected from his thoughts, and before he knew it he was in front of Sumi's house.

She had just gotten back from a mission a few days ago, and their reunion, well...Kakashi wouldn't mind having a few more days like that in his life. Smirking to himself, he paused a moment to use the key she had given him so many months ago and let himself into her apartment. He removed his shoes and headed out of the entryway, announcing himself as he went.

"Sumi-chan, I'm here."

"Oh! Kakashi I'm in the kitchen, are you hungry? I'm just about to make dinner."

"I could eat you to be sure." He said with a smile as he came around the couch and stepped into the kitchen, following her giggle in response to his comment.

Sumi was wearing her civilian clothes, just some baggy pants and a t-shirt, over which she was wearing a plain white apron. She was humming tunelessly as she stirred some pasta sauce in one pan, while ensuring the noodles didn't stick together in another.

Kakashi lingered in the doorway for a few minutes, taking in the beauty of the domestic scene. He had noticed that Sumi seemed a little tense over the last few weeks, but so far she hadn't mentioned anything and he had made the choice not to comment. If it was important, he knew that she would eventually tell him.

"Alright, all done!" She quickly transferred the meal to two plates and Kakashi aided her in setting the table.

The two sat down and enjoyed it in silence. Kakashi's mind began to wander to what might come after dinner but he was jarred back to the present by Sumi's voice.

"Kakashi, I was wondering…could I ask you something?"

"Of course" he answered affectionately. She was always so polite.

"Well, I have been thinking, you and I, we have been doing this thing," she raised a pointer finger and made a circular motion which Kakashi assumed was meant to imply the nature of their relationship, "for over two years now and I was just wondering…what you thought of it?" The last part of her question came out lower than the rest and she averted her eyes as she asked it.

"What I thought of it?" Kakashi asked, clearly confused. What was there to think about? He wanted to see her and he thought she wanted to see him…maybe she wanted to see someone else? Immediately he tensed up at the thought. It became quite uncomfortable, thinking of Sumi with someone else.

"Yes, what you thought of…the future, I mean."

"You mean us together?" His response came out hopeful, he was hoping he wasn't about to get dumped. He was messy, sure, and usually late for everything, but he thought things were going pretty alright. Maybe she didn't like his new responsibilities as squad leader? Well, he couldn't help that, someone had to watch Sensei's kid and made sure he didn't get himself in trouble with the demon fox.

"Well, yes. At least, that's what I was thinking." She looked down again and awkwardly clasped her hands together.

"Ah." He said this simply, though it didn't feel simple. Was it suddenly hot in here? He thought to himself. He could have sworn that she turned the heat up or something, he was sweaty. "Well, I think the future sounds nice." He said confidently, but also lamely as he didn't know quite what else to say.

He looked Sumi in the eye and she blinked at him.

"…With you." He finished even more lamely, suddenly very tired and worn out from the three minute conversation.

"…you want to be with me in the future?" Sumi echoed cautiously.

"I don't want to be with anyone else." Kakashi said bluntly. Well, it looked like he wasn't getting dumped today. "Unless you do?" he said this with the same delicacy he would apply to setting up a hair-trigger trap.

"Not at all." Sumi grinned at him.

"Oh. Good. Well, that means we can finally get to dessert". Thank god _that_ conversation was over, he felt like he had just run the gauntlet.

"But I didn't make dessert." Sumi frowned.

"You didn't, but I'm about to." He swiftly appeared before her and grabbed her around the waist before hauling her off to the bedroom.

* * *

Sumi's entire body tingled with pleasure as she recounted the escapades of the last few hours. Kakashi had left her, apologetically explaining that he had to rise early for his mission in the Land of Waves (he had mentioned that he couldn't be _too_ late). She turned over on the pillow, echoes of his touches standing out brightly against the weight of the cotton sheets.

His fingers had caressed her, hands cradling her head, fingers wrapped in her hair. Her hands stroked his skin, getting lost in the feel of smoothness checkered with tough and ropy scars. She had sensed the tension leave him as they tumbled. Her own tension seemed to drain off of her in rivers from their conversation.

She signed, smirking that at least they had established that they didn't want to be doing those kinds of things with anyone else. Even if it wasn't exactly what Aoba had in mind, at least she had succeeded so far and for once, felt a bit better. He would be gone for about a week on his mission while for once Sumi would be in the Village. She hadn't been scheduled for a mission as of yet, but she knew in her bones that one would be coming.

She turned over once more, this time her eyes on the ceiling.

Truly Kakashi must be the most mercurial man she had ever met, going one moment from an anxious and clearly uncomfortable state to becoming one smooth operator. It reminded her of the first time she had seen his face.

* * *

They had arrived at the hospital so that Sumi could get the cut on her fingers taken care of in the emergency room. Kakashi, appearing to be bored, propped up the nearest wall while Sumi received stitches. He patiently waited until the procedure was complete, taking out some kind of training manual to browse through the procedure.

Once they were done and left the hospital, they wandered for quite some time, neither one knowing quite what to do since their responsibility had lifted. Finally, the two settled on getting something to eat at a local shop. They had just sat down to enjoy their food when they had both sensed a tremendous chakra signature.

Instantly, Sumi's blood had grown cold. There was only one source that could be responsible for that much chakra and that much raw power: the nine tailed fox. Kakashi left it too, she had to only look into his eyes which at first had been widened in momentary fear, then narrowed in single-minded determination. They moved at once, tracking towards where they thought the chakra was coming from.

All at once, Sumi had felt something off about the atmosphere. It was almost like the oxygen was getting slowly sucked out of the air around her, like a vacuum. She had paused, look around in confusion when Kakashi had grabbed her around the waist and pressed her roughly against the wall.

About to protest angrly, she was cut off by a massive explosion, the edge of which ended right where she had been standing. Very startled and frightened, she had huddled against Kakashi, his back shielding both of them from flying debris.

"Oh my god, was that the Nine-tails?" she yelled against his chest protector, the cold metal a stark contrast to the super-heated air around them.

"It must have been, no ninja could maintain a blast like that and still have enough energy to stand." He said grimly.

Once the dust had settled enough for them to move safely around, they continued cautiously forward. They passed the desolation caused by the blast and Sumi's stomach was in knots with both worry for Lord Forth and Kushina as well as with anger for what had happened to her village.

They didn't get very far before they heard the beast, and even less time passed and they were able to see it. Bright orange, taller than any building, it was quite hard to miss. Sumi noticed that Kakashi and herself were not alone, she looked to her right and could see Kurenai and Asuma to her left, while Might Guy and Aoba stood to her right. Each Shinobi powerful and skilled in his or her own right. However, Sumi knew that most likely they would die in this fight.

"All units, fall back!" Came the sudden and heavily protested order behind the line of young Shinobi. Confused, they looked at one another, then make a gut-wrenching decision. Obey and leave their mentors to die? Or disobey and place everyone else in danger? Sumi struggled with this decision for several precious seconds before rationality took hold over her emotions. They _must_ fall back and receive what precious information they could. It would be foolish to rush into a battle without intel. If anything _that_ would result in even more death and destruction.

She turned to follow the order, but looked back to see Kakashi still standing in the same position, back and muscles ridged with some emotion that Sumi wouldn't begin to be able to identify.

"Kakashi, we need to follow the order. We need to figure out what is going on."

"I can't." he said through clenched teeth.

"You must. To go forward now would be suicide. Besides, if anybody can take care of the nine-tails, it would be Lord Forth and Kushina."

She saw Kakashi take a deep breath in what could only be resignation, and he turned to face her. She took a startled step back to see deep trails of tears running down his face. "Shinobi who don't follow the rules are scum, but Shinobi who leave their comrades behind are worse than scum." He said it in such a way that Sumi thought he was quoting someone.

"Kakashi, there's a difference between leaving comrades behind to die on purpose, and leaving comrades behind that you trust to take care of a situation."

He thought about that statement and slowly nodded.

"I do trust Sensei, and I do trust Kushina." He said this in a resigned fashion, and together they headed towards the rendezvous point.

"What do you mean we won't be able to fight?" Kurenai's voice rang out, incredulous over what she had just heard. Sumi, though more collected, shared her outrage. Why should they be barred from fighting just because they were young?

"We have the glorious strength of youth on our side! We might join the fight!" Guy protested as well, his angry tones mixing into his enthusiasm. Sumi caught Aoba's eye and they both had to resist rolling them at Guy's usual antics.

"Absolutely not." The older jounin barked, effectively cutting off all further protests. "You are the future of the village and you will not be sacrificed. You must live so that the village can live."

Sumi glanced around the crowd, somehow Kakashi had slipped away from her when they joined their peers. Not that she really minded, Kakashi and she had never really "hung out" besides what they had experienced together on this mission. Though Sumi had to admit that she wouldn't have minded him beside her as she had gotten used to his presence.

Turning back to the discussion at hand, Sumi saw that it had become heated, though it was clear that the younger generation was on the losing side. They would not be permitted to help with this battle. After several more minutes of protests, the young jounin gave in, resigned to their fate.

They waited for what seemed like hours, though Sumi suspected that her mind was playing tricks on her. Each minutes crawled by, through the mud, and up a hill. She could feel time straining on her muscle, each of which were bulging through the strain of waiting.

She finally couldn't take it anymore and began to pace around the hastily-made camp. She paused every minute or so to listen for any indication as to how the battle was going. It seemed that the nine-tails had moved off, away from the village as he hadn't sent along any of his chakra blasts in quite some time. However, she could still hear the distant sounds of battle be waged far off in the hills.

She walked further away from the camp, weaving through the trees when she spotted a small clearing. She walked in the middle of it and almost stepped on him before she realized that Kakashi was sitting in front of her.

"Oh! I am so sorry, I really didn't see you, Kakashi." She said apologetically.

"Its fine." He said, his tone monotonous and robotic. He was seated between two large tree roots, almost completely buried by the leaves that had fallen which explained Sumi's negligence. Normally she would have been able to sense someone like Kakashi right away, though she had to admit that her mind wasn't truly on the task.

"Are you ok?" She squatted down to his level, though was still unable to see anything through his mess of silver hair.

"What do you think?" He asked, all sarcasm.

"Well, I would say no. Even for you I think this isolation is a little much." She said trying to make a joke and knowing at the same time she had failed.

"I can't…stand being around people." He said quietly.

"Oh, well, do you want me to leave?" She said, rising from her squat only to find his hand firmly wrapped around her wrist.

"No. I need to tell you something."

"Okay?" she said, returning to her squat.

He took a deep breath, something which Sumi could only tell because she saw the rise and fall of his shoulders, his face still completely covered by his mop of hair.

"Sensei and Kushina…didn't make it." He said this, slowly, deliberately, and with so much anguish in his voice that Sumi didn't know if it was her own shock or his that she felt first.

"…what?" she asked, her words choked through the grief in her throat.

He took another deep breath, and this time, he raised his head to look into her eyes.

"Sensei and Kushina were killed by the fox." His words were stronger this time as they were fueled by anger.

Sumi blinked at him and was so shocked by his statement that at first she didn't notice that through the light in the trees made by the moon she could clearly see his unmasked face.

"Kakashi…how do you know that?"

"The Third Hokage just told me. He left a few minutes before you got here."

"What happened?"

And so he told her. He told her how both these wonderful leaders fought for the entire village and sacrificed themselves so that the citizens, and their newborn son, would be safe. He spun a story of heroics and heartache for their son, Naruto, would never know them.

After Kakashi had finished his story, they had sat in silence for several minutes. Sumi was in no mood to move after what she had just heard, and Kakashi made no move to shift position or to cover his face. After a while Sumi turned to face Kakashi and was able to truly take a moment and see him for who he was: a sad and lonely boy who had lost yet another precious person.

Her heart broke for him in that moment for as much as she had cared for Lord Forth and Kushina, she knew just how much they had meant for Kakashi. Determined, she stood up suddenly, startling Kakashi to look up at her.

"Come on, we can't stay here." She said as she extended her hand to him.

Puzzled, his uncovered mouth turned into a frown, he took her hand and joined her.

The two walked together for some time, deeper into the forest and away from the village. Konaha's territory was extensive and though they were still within the walls, Sumi was confident that no one would run into them. She continued to lead Kakashi until they arrived at a stream. This was a stream that ran into the larger river that fed into the heart of the village and it was a very special spot to Sumi.

"Alright, we are here." She said at last.

"Did you suddenly get the urge to take a hike?" Kakashi said dejectedly.

"Ha, sort of. This is a pretty cool place though, just so you know."

"Any why is that?" He raised one eyebrow, sharp chin oddly contrasted to his soft grey eyes. It would take some getting used to, Kakashi's face.

"Because this is the spot where my family used to live."


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter 6! The angst will increase by the end!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Differences or Similarities?

"What do you mean? Haven't you always lived in town?" Kakashi asked her as he crunched the heel of his sandal into the dry leaves. Now that he thought about it, he did seem to remember that there was a time where Rin and Sumi had taken a different route to the academy. In his defense though, he had been very young and generally unconcerned with people besides himself.

"Now we do, but there was a time where the Kurama clan had lived on the outskirts of the village." She replied softly. "It wasn't until after I became a Genin that we were moved."

Kakashi looked at her then and seemed to catch onto the distinct feeling of discomfort coming from his mission partner.

"Why were you moved?" He asked warily. Kakashi had been a member of ANBU long enough to know that there were many dark secrets in the Hidden Leaf.

"We were moved so that the Uchiha could keep a closer eye on us."

Kakashi frowned, what did the Leaf Police force have to do with it?

"The Kurama clan are very distant relatives of the Uchiha and when we first integrated with Hidden Leaf, there was unrest that together the two clans might become too powerful and seek to overthrow the Hokage. So the Second Hokage made a deal with the Uchiha that they couldn't refuse: in return for watching the Kurama clan, they would be made the 'peace-keepers' of the Leaf and the Konaha police force was born."

Kakashi was fascinated by her story, not just because it revealed some of the village's history, facts that he felt would not be made public anytime soon, but also because he could sense the true emotions coming from Matsumi regarding this subject. Something was bothering her.

"The Uchiha ruled us with an iron fist. Sort of like the branch and main families of the Hyuga. They were so desperate for consideration and more importantly _trust_ from the Village that they often forgot their humanity. They forgot that we were their family too. Then, much of that changed when…Lord Forth…became Hokage."

At her words, Kakashi was abruptly brought back to the reality of the situation, the reality of his own intense pain. He had to admit that Sumi was such an entrancing storyteller that he was able to forget his feelings for a short period of time.

"When Lord Forth became Hokage, he reasoned with both the clans of Uchiha and Kurama and we were able to come together and live in the village. Much of the pain of the past was forgotten. However, the Kurama still remember what it felt like to be outsiders in the village. Isolated from their community and from their kin." She paused from her tale and shot Kakashi what he would call a shy glance. "You must be wondering why I am telling you all of this?" She offered.

Kakashi merely shrugged his shoulders, right at that moment, very little seemed to matter to him.

"I wanted to let you know this because, I think that one of the reasons we don't play nicely with one another is because we are actually a lot alike, Kakashi."

He blinked stupidly at her with one eye. "What do you mean?"

"When we were younger, I heard what happened to your father." Her words were soft but to Kakashi it felt like she had stabbed him with a kunai. He chose not to respond, so she continued. "I heard what had happened and how he was shamed for his choice to place his comrades before the village. I always found that to be a noble choice, and one that was completely the opposite of what I had known. The Uchiha had always placed the village's wishes before their comrades, their _family._ I always resented them for that, and I thought that perhaps you shared your father's ideals."

She paused in her narrative. Kakashi felt that she was both giving him time to process what she had implied but also giving him time to collect his thoughts which he appreciated. _Funny,_ he thought, _how different would my life be if I had chosen to follow my father's ideals from the start?_

"Now I do." He replied quietly.

As they had been talking they continued to move deeper into the forest, past the stream where they had first began talking. The trees were growing closer together, bushes and weeds clumping in any spot large enough to support their root system. It was becoming harder and harder to move beneath the forest canopy, but somehow after walking what must have been around a half hour, they made it. Or at least, Kakashi assumed that was the case. The location where they arrived appeared to be the ruins of at least ten houses, once functional, but now so overgrown by nature that they were almost unrecognizable.

His eyes, previously focused on the ground swiveled to face her, meeting her viridian eyes in all their glory. Each orb reflecting the same color that surrounded them. As his gaze met hers, he felt a sudden shock run through his system. He averted his eyes again, pretending to take in the sights, though they would return to her at random intervals throughout the rest of the evening.

The two of them toured the little town in silence. For Kakashi the silence was comfortable, he truly enjoying himself in Sumi's presence. He found himself admiring the way she moved, her long hair, always tied back in a braid, swayed with every step. He found his eyes following the train of hair, lower, and lower.

"Thanks for coming with me, Kakashi." Sumi's voice was soft as she said this but Kakashi's face immediately flushed at where his thoughts, and eyes, had been going.

"S-sure. Thanks for giving me something else to focus on tonight." He replied after stumbling a bit on the first word. _Hopefully she didn't notice._ He thought.

The two continued on for several more minutes before deciding wordlessly to head back to the main portion of Hidden Leaf. Before they exited the forest, Kakashi had thankfully remembered that he had taken off his mask. He hastily replaced it, aware as he did so of Sumi's eyes on him.

When they finally exited the forest, they were met with a totally opposite site. Where the trees had been a peaceful sanctuary, the village was now a painful reminder of not just the physical destruction, but also the emotional.

Kakashi felt his entire body tense-up at the site and the reality of the situation. His mind, however, was clear as a frozen lake. His ANBU training had taught him that he could wear an emotionless mask when he chose, and he chose to do so at this moment.

"Sumi, I must report to my squad leader, now that our mission is…complete." He said this tonelessly though through his emotionless mask he still felt the small twinge of pain.

"Of course, I believe that I, too, must report for the clean-up." She replied sadly.

The two had at that point taken their leave, unsure where, or when, they would see each other again.

* * *

Sumi awoke with a start, her skin sticky with a cold sweat which had formed while she had slept. She turned over and with a frown attempted to remember what she had been dreaming. She thought she had been dreaming of the night when they had lost Kushina and Lord Forth, the night she had also revealed her clan's uncomfortable history with the Uchiha, though of course as with all dreams, the harder she tried to grasp the details, the sooner they slipped through her fingers.

She thought she had remembered Kakashi taking off his mask, and she remembered her thoughts when she saw his face for the first time. She had always been curious, ever since the academy. All the girls, including Rin had fanaticized what his face would look like and had spent many hours conjuring up ridiculous plans to get him to uncover it. She remembered feeling surprised, not because he wasn't handsome, but because as soon as she saw it, it was simply Kakashi's face. It seemed to fit him, especially his voice which she had gotten to know so well.

Beyond that though, she found that she couldn't remember much else. She signed and struggled for a few more minutes before finally giving it up as a bad job. She rose from the twisted mass of sheets and resolved to get on with her day, it was only about thirty minutes sooner than she would usually be getting up anyway.

Kakashi had been gone on his first big mission with his team of Genin for the past week and she didn't expect him back for at least a few days. No matter for her though, she would be starting her next mission at noon anyway and it would keep her busy. And keep her mind off of missing the silver-haired ninja.

She went through her usual mission prep mechanically, easily done after so many years practicing. Her mission was to complete regular patrols around the village with her old four-man squad. They would be conducting routine-checks around the perimeter of the village and the surrounding forest. She paused in her preparations for a few minutes, now that she thought of it, there had been many more recon and associated missions than usual assigned to the Jounin and ANBU teams.

Shrugging she returned to her prep, knowing that if it was important, Lord Third would inform them. Glancing at the clock, she grinned to herself as she realized that with all her planning she would actually arrive early to the Hokage's office. _Take that, Kakashi._

* * *

"Seriously?! We are really hosting the Chunin exams?" Aoba exclaimed, black eyes huge with disbelief.

"Seriously." Lord third dead-panned as Sumi, Aoba and several other higher-ranking Jounin were gathered in his office.

"That's the reason for the extra security sweeps, right?" Genma asked.

"Exactly, we need to make sure that our boundaries are secure and stable _before_ all of the foreign Genin teams arrive. That means that it's _everyone's_ responsibility to pick up the extra missions. This is going to be imperative if we want to secure allies from this. We need to ensure that the other Hidden Villages are aware that we are a strong, and capable force but that we also prefer to live in harmony with our neighbors. This means everyone will have to work together to achieve this larger goal."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" they cried in unison.

Each team was dismissed but not before being assigned a section to patrol each day. The teams were assigned their areas on a rotating basis. Basically Sumi, Aoba and Guy would take the west district on their first day, but each day after that they would move clock-wise around the village, with the team assigned to the next section moving one section over. That way each team would be able to patrol a different area each day in order to make sure that the previous team didn't miss anything.

Lord Third had explained that the Chunin exams would take place in one month. The teams would continue this patrol pattern until the exams. On the day of the exams, they would switch with ANBU teams and would continue the patrol but within the gates of the village. Thereby being available for exam proctoring and assistance.

"Can you believe that we are hosting the Chunin exams? Such an excellent opportunity to display the energy of youth!" Guy exclaimed once they were within their assigned area.

"Yes, it was really quite surprising. I had no idea." Aoba replied. "Guy, do you think your team will be ready?"

"Of course! Neji, Tenten and Lee will be more than prepared as each of them are brimming with youthful spirit and vigor!"

"Well, I'm not sure that youth has anything to do with it, I was mostly asking about their skills in the ninja arts." Aoba replied mildly.

"My dear Aoba, youth has everything to do with it!" Guy insisted. "All though I will not hesitate to add that their ninja skills are coming along nicely as well."

Sumi smiled as she swung through the trees, enjoying the simple pleasures of her teammates bickering. It felt much as it had when they were younger and hadn't lost so many people. She signed and steeled herself. She mustn't dwell on the past, the present was always more important.

The teams continued their rotations for several days without incident for about a week. By then, Sumi had to admit that she was worried that Kakashi and his team hadn't arrived back at the village. She hadn't expected that the mission, supposedly 'C' Class, would take so long. She frowned, but continued her patrol.

Finally, halfway through the second week, she chose to visit the Hokage's office after her shift had ended.

"Hokage-sama, I apologize for bothering you. I wanted to ask you a question."

Lord Third looked up from his desk, musty pipe sticking out of his mouth as usual. "…You are wondering why Kakashi hasn't returned with his team of Genin?"

Sumi immediately flushed. How could this man have known exactly what she had been thinking?

"Yes, sir." Maybe if she played it cool he wouldn't suspect anything.

Sarotobi smiled at Sumi. "I received word via messenger hawk this morning that their mission hit some…unexpected road blocks but they are on their way back to the village. Kakashi indicated that she should arrive by noon tomorrow.

Sumi let out a breath of air that she had no idea she had been holding. _Thank god._

* * *

Kakashi signed in relief as he and his bedraggled team crested the last hill and the walls of the village finally came into view. Considering everything, they were lucky to be alive. As the four teammates entered the village, he saw to it that each of the younger members made it safely to their respective residences, before he dragged himself to his own.

He scrapped the key into the lock and all but fell to the floor of his apartment, effectively snoring before he hit the carpeted interior. The only sound was of the door snapping shut behind him.

He didn't know how long he slept, but when he awoke it was dark outside. He blinked stupidly at the fibers of the carpet, for a moment forgetting where he was. Then, he picked himself up and traipsed toward his shower, peeling the smelly and dirty mission gear from his heavily muscled body. He stood in the shower for about ten minutes at first, simply enjoying the feel of the warm water on his skin. He was also enjoying the fact that the water wasn't aimed at killing him. His thoughts drifted back to his fight with Zabuza, his muscles inadvertently tightening in response.

That had been a close one. Not just for him, but for Sasuke and Naruto too. He clenched his fists in frustration. He needed to begin training them immediately. They needed to be ready for whatever challenges occurred in the future. And Naruto needed to learn how to control that fox, he reflected.

He pondered training regimens for several minutes before his brain began to glaze over and the water began to turn cold. Snapping back to reality, he hastily washed himself before the warm water failed completely.

As his hands trained over his bare skin, be became aware of quite another need entirely, especially as he began to wash a certain area. All at once, he tallied up the days in his head, coming to the sobering conclusion that it had been almost twenty days since he had last see Sumi. And consequently, about twenty days since he had last had sex. He blinked his eyes at the stream of water, sighing heavily once more.

He shut off the water and dried himself off, careful not to make his current situation worse between his legs. He traveled to his bedroom and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt emblazoned with the crest of Konoha. Lastly, he fixed a mask over the lower features of his face, the one he wore most often when sleeping. He sat in bed and began to think if it was too late to visit Sumi when a knock at his front door disturbed his thoughts.

His heart began to race, surely it couldn't be her? It was nearly two o'clock in the morning. No, it was probably someone from ANBU demanding he make a report to the Hokage right away. Resigned, he pulled himself out of his bed and labored towards his door.

The knock came again, persistent and annoying.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He winced. Why couldn't he give the stupid report in the morning?

He opened the door, fully expecting to see the masked face of an ANBU member, but was totally shocked with his black eye met two bright green ones.

"Sumi?!" He said, totally taken aback, "I wasn't expecting you. Why are you here so late?"

"I'm sorry to bother you!" She said, putting both hands up in response to his tone of surprise. "I hope I didn't wake you up. I just got done with my patrol and wanted to see how you were doing." He noticed that one hand also held the handle of a bag and from the bag out wafted the most delicious smell that he knew to be Ichiraku Ramen.

Kakashi grinned and closed his one visible eye in total bliss. Truly the gods had seen fit to bless him with the most wonderful woman. "Sumi-chan how is it possible you could read my mind?"

"Huh?" She answered, totally confused.

"Never mind, come in, I wasn't sleeping, I just got out of the shower actually."

"Oh good, I would hate to disturb you after such a long mission."

The two went inside the apartment and Kakashi proceeded to fully inhale his ramen.

* * *

Sumi was pleased to find that Kakashi was awake, but she couldn't help but notice that he seemed to have lost weight and that the small pieces of skin she could see were pale. She watched him each his ramen, face mask folded down just enough to allow him to take bites.

"Were you injured at all, Kakashi?"

He looked up from his dinner and Sumi thought he could tell she had been worried. He smiled at her and said, "No I wasn't injured, badly. It was just as you said: a very long mission."

Sumi sat quietly as Kakashi told her all about the events of the mission. She was shocked, having thought it was such a low-rank mission only to find out that Kakashi and his team had nearly died at the hands of some Hidden-Mist missing-nins.

"Kakashi…I'm so glad that you are alright." She said softly her hand meeting his.

"Me too." He smiled at her, giving her stomach a warm and tingly feeling. "By the way," he asked, suddenly looking away from her, "just how tired would you say you were right now?"

Sumi blinked and then glanced at the clock which read almost three in the morning. Then she caught on to what he was insinuating, and smirked at him.

"Oh Kakashi your mission must not have been that tiring if you still have energy for _that._ " She leaned over to him, shifting her dark hair behind one ear.

"I always have energy for _that_ , Sumi-chan." He whispered to her, his breath ghosting across her skin.

"Oh good." She sighed just as softly.

Kakashi's fingers caressed her cheek, bringing his lips to meet hers. She tasted the salty pork flavor of the ramen, but then as always, Kakashi's taste. Their lips moved together flawlessly for several moments before Sumi grew impatient and deepened it. Their tongues teased each other. Suddenly, Kakashi's grip on her neck tightened, his other arm snaked around her and clutched her towards his chest.

Sumi let out a soft mew of protest and surprise; Kakashi's deep voice chuckled in response. The two had been seated on the floor, their empty ramen bowls forgotten on the coffee table beside them. Kakashi maneuvered them so that Sumi was leaning against his torso, his hand running up and down her sides.

Sumi took her hands and slipped them under Kakashi's t-shirt, raking her nails softly up and down his stomach, able to feel each ab carefully defined. Kakashi growled in response to her attentions and Sumi could feel the area between her legs grow moist. How was it that this man could do this to her with almost no words at all?

The two continued to tease one another, reveling and enjoying the feel of the other's body after so many days without it. Finally, they managed to get the other mostly unclothed. Sumi had ended up with her back on Kakashi's floor, the soft carpet felt nice against her flushed skin. She looked up into Kakashi's eyes, one the usual black, the other the spinning red of the Sharingan. She found both to be beautiful in their own way. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so happy. So happy in fact, that her mouth got away from her mind for a moment and she said three little words.

"I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Cliffhanger! But not too bad, I promise!**

* * *

Chapter 7: The Beginning

Frozen. That was the only word that Kakashi could use to describe how his body reacted. It was like being frozen by Zabuza's young protégé, Haku. But somehow, since it was Sumi, it was worse. Kakashi stopped breathing for a few seconds, both eyes fixed on the beautiful kunoichi whom he had pinned beneath him.

Ironically, Sumi had also frozen. Green eyes fixed unblinkingly on Kakashi's unmasked face. All of her muscles tensed against the floor, so tight that Kakashi would have thought her to be in a life-and-death struggle. But then again, so was he.

 _Say something, you idiot! The most beautiful girl in the entire world says she loves you and all you can do is stare at her!_ His inner voice screamed at him to do something, anything, but all of his years of training had never prepared himself for so dangerous a situation.

"…Thank you?" He said, and immediately regretted it. Regretted it so much in fact that he couldn't stop himself from flinching at how those words would have sounded to him if their situations had been reversed.

He looked back at Sumi, and expected anger, hurt, sadness…anything other than what he saw.

"…Thank you." She repeated. Almost saying it to taste the words. "I see." She relaxed all of her muscles, and, very politely, moved out from under Kakashi.

"Wait, where are you going, Sumi-chan?" His voice cracked a little, suddenly terrified by her reaction…or lack thereof.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun, I suddenly remember that I must make a rather urgent report to the Hokage. I'd better do it before I return home." Her eyes were plastered to the carpet of his apartment.

Kakashi raised an arm as if to touch her, but lowered it, totally unsure what to do. "Oh...so late?" He asked, ashamed at how pathetic his voice sounded.

"Yes, I must apologize, I am unexpectedly busy at the moment." She said this as she gathered her clothes, placing them on her body mechanically and with little thought. She spoke to Kakashi as one might speak to a door-to-door salesman who was selling mediocre kunai.

And before he could protest, she was gone, shutting his front door nearly noiselessly behind her, the edge of it making a soft rustling sound on the carpet as it slid past. To Kakashi, it had quickly become his least favorite sound in the world.

The door clicked shut, leaving the silver-haired man very alone and suddenly very lonely. It was as if Sumi took the warmth with her when she had left. Kakashi stared at the wall for several minutes, running the scene through his head a million times. He knew at that moment that it was destined to become like every other horrible memory, one that he had every opportunity to stop, but of course he had done nothing. Just like with Obito, Rin…Sensei and even Kushina. Simply put, Kakashi couldn't lose Sumi too. But in this moment, he found he simply did not have the will to go on.

He ran a shaking hand through his perpetually unruly hair and retired to his room, falling face-first into his bed. A bed that only moments ago he hadn't been expecting to sleep in alone. He turned over and stared at the ceiling, thinking over the situation, forcing himself to push past all his confused emotions and look at the situation logically.

The facts were that a women he cared about and who had been through hell with him just confessed her feelings. He, socially inept as he was, chose not to reciprocate those feelings. Or was that really it? Kakashi knew he cared about Sumi, he knew he didn't want her to be with anyone else. In fact, now that he thought about it, it had been that way for several years.

He frowned his still un-masked face, still not having bothered to replace the covering after the ordeal he had just gone through. When did it start? When did he first know that Sumi meant that much to him? He closed his eyes and it didn't take long for him to remember.

* * *

Kakashi stood outside the entrance to the ANBU locker room, his foot aimlessly playing with a small rock. He looked up as he saw that Yamato had almost made it down the street from the Uchiha compound, their new recruit in tow.

"Ah! Kakashi! I'm glad to see you are on time for once." The brown-haired man teased him, smiling widely as he did so.

"Hm, well I see you haven't screwed up an assignment…for once." He teased back.

Yamato frowned at Kakashi, but turned to the recruit and said, "Don't let his gentle side fool you, Itachi-kun, Kakashi-Taichou really is a jerk." He padded the younger shinobi's shoulder in an encouraging way.

Kakashi rolled his eye at Yamato, and then turned to address Itachi himself. "Itachi Uchiha-kun, glad you could make it today. I was informed by the Hokage earlier in the week that you passed the ANBU exams and that you will be assigned to our squad, is that correct?"

Itachi met Kakashi's eyes, black on black, and nodded once, settling for a simple "Yes" in reply. _He must either be very nervous, or quite the loner,_ he mused to himself. Either way, it wasn't the kind of personality that would interfere with missions so Kakashi was satisfied. He beckoned the two other ninja to follow him into the locker room.

It had been five years since Sensei and Kushina had died protecting the village, and in those five years Kakashi had struggled. He had thrown himself further and further into ANBU, relishing the fact that he was discouraged from feeling emotions. In the first two years he mostly worked. He barely saw any of his classmates from the academy, and if it wasn't for Yamato who was added to the team the following year, he figured he would have succeeded in completely isolating himself. He glanced back at the wide-eyed Shinobi and smiled slightly. He couldn't have asked for a better teammate.

Yamato was busy explaining some of the minor details of the ANBU quarters to Itachi, where they could and couldn't go, the fastest escape routes, normal stuff. He looked up and caught Kakashi looking at him and raised his eyebrows in a question, _need something?_

Kakashi shook his head and turned forward just as they entered the main area. Itachi was shown his own space for his belongings and the three of them took a seat as they waited for the other two members of the team before Kakashi briefed them on their mission.

"So, Itachi-kun, do you have any questions?"

"…not at this time, Taichou." He answered softy.

"Alright, well don't hesitate to ask." He was about to say more when the last two members of their team entered, both wearing their ANBU masks as protocol encouraged for most members.

Kakashi looked at the two shinobi, attempting to size them up despite their masks. He had been recently promoted to captain, and at his request he was allowed to keep Yamato with him. However, he had been assigned three new teammates, Itachi being the youngest and the newest to ANBU. The other two had been members for the past two years, though Kakashi had not been made aware of their identities prior to this meeting.

"You may make yourselves known, Hawk and Deer, he nodded to each person, calling them by their codenames as indicated by the while masks they wore.

Hawk spoke first, removing her painted shell, "It's a pleasure to be working with you, Kakashi-Taichou, my name is Yugao Uzuki and I specialize in Kenjutsu." She bowed her head, her purple hair spilling forward, hiding her brown eyes for a moment before raising it to meet Kakashi's eyes, smiling as she did so.

Deer spoke next, "Nice to see you again, Kakashi-san, I think this will be interesting. As you know I specialize in Genjutsu and Taijutsu." When she removed her mask, Kakashi was taken aback.

"Masumi-san?" He said, startled, "I didn't know you had joined ANBU."

"Well, you have made yourself scarce these last few years." Though she said this gently, Kakashi found he felt a little guilty. After all, they hadn't they really seen each other over the years, since Sensei and Kushina died actually. It was for that reason Kakashi had found himself avoiding her. Perhaps seeing her reminded him too much of his painful past, of the people he didn't want to remember missing.

"Ah, yes, well as you can see I have been busy." He said this while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Then he looked around at the rest of his team, all three of whom were watching the exchange intently. "Anyway, good to see you again." He coughed uncomfortably, attempting to smooth the atmosphere over. This was not a good time for it to be awkward. "We should begin the briefing for our new team, Team Ro."

"Yes Taichou!" Said the voices of his new team.

* * *

Several months passed and Kakashi was pleased with the development of Team Ro. At first he had been apprehensive about Matsumi joining the team, not just because of his own feelings about their past history, but because he also remembered what she had told him concerning her unique ties to the Uchiha clan, including her own personal feelings about them. He made sure to watch her interactions with Itachi, but was soon convinced that she had either dealt with her issues, or had decided not to place any blame on the young Uchiha prodigy.

The five-man team worked smoothly together, successfully completing mission after mission with little-to-no injuries. They quickly became a top-ranking team, taking more and more dangerous missions, each time growing stronger and more trusting of the skills of their comrades.

Kakashi had to admit that it was nice having people around, people he could really talk to. Even if the rest of the squad didn't know every detail of Kakashi's past, he couldn't help but think it nice that Matsumi did and still was content with working so closely with him.

So closely in fact that Kakashi had begun to notice certain…things about Matsumi. The kinds of things he had found it hard to ignore that night when she took him to her abandoned village, the one where she was raised.

After five years, the two of them had grown, though in different ways. Kakashi and Matsumi had both been fourteen when the Nine Tails attacked the village. Now, both at nineteen, almost twenty years old, Kakashi towered above her, at five feet, ten inches, while the top of her head barely brushed his collar bone. While both were finely muscled and obviously in shape to manage ANBU missions, Matsumi always seemed to carry a little extra weight in certain places, a fact that Kakashi knew frustrated her. He had overheard her commenting to Yugao that she thought maybe cardio would help her in those areas.

He had actually had to force himself not to snort out loud at the absurdity of the situation. He couldn't help thinking at the time that he would like to show her how much _he_ would never mind something like that, how much he would like to grab her from behind and—he stopped suddenly. _What am I thinking? I am her ANBU captain, I can't be thinking of her that way._ At the time he had shook his head in disgust at himself and slowly returned to his previous task.

Though the odd thing was, Kakashi couldn't _stop_ thinking about her that way. It happened again a few weeks later when he and Matsumi were out to lunch with Yamato when suddenly Matsumi was picked up from behind by none other than her old teammate, and Kakashi's 'rival', Might Guy. Matsumi had let out a little squeal of surprise, she had obviously known he was behind her, but she hadn't been expecting him to do _that._

Immediately, Kakashi felt his eye narrow, and clenched his chopsticks a little too tight. He realized this only after he had broken them in half, and had to ask the man at Ichiraku Ramen for another pair. He had at that point backed out of the conversation, claiming he had forgotten to do paperwork for their last mission (an excuse which everyone readily believed much to his dismay), while on his way home, he tried everything he could think of not to imagine her making that noise for something _he_ had done instead.

Finally, Team Ro was approaching its one-year anniversary, and as a reward for a job well-done by the Hokage, they were awarded with a very unique mission. It was one that was seldom asked of the Hidden Leaf due to the exceptional dangers involved.

"So everyone is clear regarding his and her own roles?" Kakashi asked his team, his muscular arms folded against his chest.

"Yes, Taichou." Came the unanimous echo.

"Excellent, you are all dismissed; I will see you in the morning." He looked at each ANBU squad member's face, reminding them all of their trust and feeling of unity. He saved Matsumi for last and quirked his one visible eyebrow, the unspoken question asking if she would have a word with him once the others were gone.

Dutiful as always, Matsumi did just that. "What can I help you with, Kakashi-kun?" She asked him, hierarchy forgotten once the others had cleared the locker room.

"Not too much, I wanted to check in and make sure you were alright with the mission parameters."

Now it was her turn to quirk an eyebrow before she replied pointedly, "Yugao is performing the same task and you aren't asking if she is alright with it." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she waited for an answer.

Taken aback, he swallowed uncomfortably, "Yes, well, she has performed this kind of task before—"

"So have I!" She exclaimed, cutting him off and looking at him like he had three heads.

"…You have?" He replied weakly.

"Yes! I did it two years ago as part of Team Ko. Really Kakashi-kun, it was nice of you to check in with me, but I can handle this." She smiled at him and grabbed her bag, exiting the room before he could respond.

As the door shut behind her he found himself blushing furiously and thanked the gods for his mask. _Masumi has completed_ this _kind of mission before?_ He thought to himself, totally unsure he liked what he was feeling. To think that she had engaged in a seduction mission previously seemed to incite a chemical reaction in his body. It was as if someone had forced him to swallow baking soda and vinegar and as a result he felt only irrational irritation.

He knew of course that all Shinobi were trained in the arts of seduction for no exceptions for gender in case their target had certain…tastes. However, he himself had never been on this type of mission and was unsure what to expect. When he thought of Matsumi doing it…he was unsettled. Yes, that was a good word for it. Finally realizing the lateness of the hour, he exited the room himself and headed for home. However, he wasn't sure how much sleep he would get.

* * *

Morning dawned bright and early for Sumi who had made sure to get a great deal of sleep before the mission. She reflected back to her training in this area and knew that though she had gone undercover before, this mission would be different. She checked and double-checked her gear, ensuring the special uniforms supplied by the person hiring the Hidden Leaf were accounted for. Satisfied that she was as prepared as she would ever be, she swung her pack over her shoulder and fixed her Deer mask over her face before flickering out of her apartment to the meeting site.

Once there, she nodded to the rest of her team and just like that, they were off.

They traveled for the rest of the day, not stopping from their grueling pace except for restroom breaks. Finally, when they approached the border of the Fire country, they stopped.

"Alright, here we meet our contact who will provide transportation over sea into the Land of Water." Kakashi-kun's voice came out of his Dog mask to Sumi's right. "After he drops us off on the main island, we are on our own until we complete the mission. Here is where we will change to our civilian clothes, store all of your belongings that aren't necessary in this". He produced a thick summoning scroll where all the squad members placed their ANBU gear as they struggled into their yukata and kimono.

As Sumi handed over her bag to Kakashi, her hand brushed his and she felt his muscles go ridged. She looked at him questioningly but he ignored her. She frowned as she turned away to straighten her clothes, placing hidden weapons within the folds. _What was that about?_ She wondered to herself, but was then brought back to the present by a loud _poof!_ as Kakashi sealed the scroll and stashed it in the sleeve of his shirt.

"Everyone ready?" He asked, his face covered by the lower half of his mask, his right eye covered by an eye patch rather than his Hita-ake.

The other four members nodded in response, and continued all the way to the beach.

In total, the crossing was uneventful, though Sumi had to stop Kakashi from pretending to push Yamato overboard a few times, each time she made sure not to touch him, just in case he did happen to be irritated with her, or something.

Near the end of the voyage, she leaned on the railings of the ship and looked forward; a bright spot of color was visible on the horizon which could only be the largest island of the Land of Water. The railing vibrated suddenly and she looked over and saw she was accompanied by Itachi. His eyes faced forward but he glanced over at her, his black eyes intent on her face. She smiled at him, glad of the company and saw his mouth quirk up slightly in return.

The two stood side-by-side, content with the silence before Itachi, surprisingly, was the one to break it. "Are you worried?" He asked her, eyes still fixed intently on the looming mass.

"About the mission? Not particularly. Do you think I should be?" she asked him, surprised that he had taken an interest. Even though Itachi was an Uchiha, Sumi found that she quite liked his quiet nature and scholarly mind. She had even come to think of him as a little-brother figure in her life over the past year with Team Ro.

He shrugged lightly in response. "Not that you _should_ be, but if you were, I would understand." He said softly.

Sumi blinked at Itachi and then faced forward again, thinking of how to respond. "…I'm not worried. But I am a little…scared." She said the last word softly, so softly she was sure that Itachi couldn't possibly have heard her, but then he responded.

"Me too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 is finally here! So sorry for the delay, I've had a lot of personal stuff come up (some good, some not so good) but as the new year approaches I hope to spend more time and energy on my writing. Thanks everyone for your continued interest, as always I do not own Naruto and I would like feedback!**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Mission

Swallowing nervously, Sumi glanced over at Yugao for reassurance and found the purple-haired kunoichi doing the same. Sumi cleared her voice to speak, trying as she did so to ignore the increasing shivers she was experiencing as a result of her skimpy outfit.

"Hello, we are here for the job opening. We were told to come by around ten." She purposely increased the pitch of her voice to make it seem more girlie and innocent.

The man behind the counter had been reading the newspaper while smoking a cigarette. The smoke curled up around his face and then drifted lazily to the ceiling, taking the shape of a lopsided-cloud. He didn't look up.

"Um, sir?" Sumi tried again after a moment, fighting the urge to draw her arms around her in an effort to increase her steadily dropping body temperature.

Very slowly, the man plucked his cigarette out of his mouth and put it out in an overused ashtray, before finally looking up. He glared at the two women, appraising not just their faces, but also the rest of their apparel. Both Sumi and Yugao were dressed in kimono, though the usual style had been altered to suggest a more versatile style. The hem of the garment came up to just above both of their knees, which for someone like Sumi who was already short, wasn't much of a stretch. For Yugao, who was about the height of the usual male, it was much more noticeable. The upper section of the kimono were cut low so as to accentuate the more feminine curves of both women. In that aspect, Sumi clearly had the advantage over Yugao for as hard as she tried, she could never seem to achieve the lean and willowy frame most common among kunoichi.

Ironically, what made her stand out and be more vulnerable in the field was actually ideal for a mission of this type.

"You here for the position?" He inquired, grey eyes locked on both of the two girls.

"Yes, that's correct." Yugao stated, attempting to get things moving as the man didn't seem to have heard her earlier statement.

"Straight back to the door on the far wall." And without any further comment, he returned to his reading.

Taking it for the obvious dismissal that it was, both female members of Team Ro headed into the club and quickly located the door. As Sumi walked around through the club her nose was assaulted with the sharp smell of cheap beer and sea water. It was an odd combination, but then again, the club was located just feet from the beach, and they _were_ in Hidden Mist after all. Almost every building in the country was located close to some body of water.

The Shinobi village of Hidden Mist was home to all kinds of characters, from true ninja to power-hungry thugs. This, coincidently, was also the best way to describe their target. A former Shinobi who had retired and turned to a life of organized, and covert, crime. The man's name was Hiro Unagi, but Team Ro hadn't been able to ascertain whether that was the man's true name or a nickname. Sumi assumed it was his birth name for what man would willingly go by the name for eel?

They quickly crossed to the far side of the bar, a simple feat as she and Yugao had come during the day for their position and thus the space was quite empty. Sumi judged that during a good night, it could have easily fit two hundred or even more drunken slobs.

The main room of the establishment was in the shape of a square, a pathway about fifteen feet wide separated the bar and the stage area. As Sumi and Yugao passed the raised platform, their eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the twin metal poles that rose and attached themselves (firmly, Sumi hoped) to the ceiling of the bar.

The door they were aiming for was straight ahead, a lone guard stood in front, a grizzled man who looked too hungover to be a truly effective in that capacity. Sumi approached first, turning up the charm in order to address the man. She made sure to use the same tone of voice she used earlier to cement her role as the 'cute new girl'.

"Hi there, we were sent back. We applied for the job?" She stretched her arms downward, pushing her elbows up against her cleavage in an effort to make it even more obvious that it already was in her low-cut dress. She winked for added emphasis, though she suspected she was overdoing it.

"Oh, are you both here to be one of Hiro's girls?" The bodyguard's voice rasped, a thick miasma of stale whiskey rolled out of his open maw and wafted towards the disguised kunoichi. "I think he will be pretty pleased to have two beauties like you on the payroll. Go on ahead." He leaned forward and leered unpleasantly at Sumi's breasts while at the same time moving to the left and un-blocking the door.

Sumi suppressed a shudder and smiled at the man in a blinding way as they continued forward towards their goal. Once through the door, they moved down a short hallway to another door, this one also sporting a bodyguard. Only this time he looked like he had _definitely_ earned the job. He had arms the size of fallen logs, both of which were crossed in front of his chest. He sported a Mist headband and an equally quelling gaze, which was trained on the approaching women.

"Business…or pleasure?" He asked bluntly, already bored though it was still quite early in the day.

"Oh, well…I guess both?" Yugao asked sweetly, purposely maneuvering her face into an expression of seduction and playfulness.

The guard blinked.

"…You may go in." He said as he looked away awkwardly, a blush slowly creeping up his neck.

 _Amateur,_ Sumi thought uncharitably. It looked like her Genjutsu was working, something that she was very relieved to find out. It was after all, central to their plan. Before she and Yugao had left their team meeting place that morning, she had cast it. It wasn't designed to change their outward appearance, instead it was designed to increase their, for lack of a better term, sex appeal. Both Kakashi and Itachi had checked it out before they had departed, both confirming that it was subtle enough not to tip off anyone but the highest level Genjutsu user, and that it was indeed, working. Yamato had agreed on the last point, his usually pale face lit up like the Will of Fire itself.

She and Yugao continued on though their third door of the club, this one the last on their agenda. They opened the door and were pushed by the second bodyguard into a medium-sized meeting space, one that was occupied by three men.

It only took a second for Sumi to identify them all. The first one she recognized was their target, Hiro Unagi. He was their target for one simple reason: he was a known sex-trafficker and gang leader of a group charged with abducting young children from numerous hidden villages and their surrounding areas. In Fire Country alone he was linked to the disappearances of thirty young girls, and boys, though the actual number was suspected to be closer to fifty just in the last year. In several other countries, the number was well over one hundred. Their mission was to capture him and bring him back alive. The Hidden Leaf and their direct employer wished it in case he could offer information and whereabouts of the victims. After extracting this information, he would be killed. Sumi couldn't find it in her heart to find pity for this shell of a human being.

The second man she recognized was called Yuki Ichi, second-in command to Hiro. The employer's strict instructions were to kill him. And finally the third man was Kumo Takashi, third in command, orders were also to kill. On the surface, it was a quick and easy job. However, there was one other detail that made it particularly dangerous: for it to work, he had to pick either Sumi or Yugao as his bait. And pick he would, the Genjutsu would see to that.

"Ah, you two must be the new girls!" Hiro Unagi said, his lips pulling back into a skin-tingling smile. "My name is Yoshi, and I am so pleased to be in the presence of two beautiful ladies like yourselves. There two are my associates and they will assist with you…training today."

Sumi noted that the name he used was an alias. Of course he would use one since he was wanted in multiple countries for heinous crimes.

Both Sumi and Yugao nodded, nervously smiling, playing the part of the 'new girls'.

"Well then, please allow me to show you around before your big debut tonight."

* * *

Kakashi anxiously paced back and forth in team Ro's cramped hotel room. The room offered two twin beds, both of which were occupied by Itachi sitting on the edge of the left one, while Yamato sat on the edge of the right. Kakashi's feet traveled back and forth in front of them, their twin sets of eyes following his every move.

"What time is it?" Kakashi asked, breaking the silence that had been stretching for the last three hours. His voice came out strangely tight, sounding strained to even his own ears.

"Almost eleven, we should move out." Yamato's instantaneous reply told Kakashi that he had been watching the clock on the wall as intently as he had been watching Kakashi pace.

"Finally." Itachi's short reply also betrayed the young ninja's feelings of strain.

No one liked to think about what their other two teammates had been doing, or what they might have been made to do, for most of the day. They all wanted it to be over as soon as possible. Kakashi had had to stop himself several times from running out of the hotel room and across half the Hidden Village to check up on Sumi and Yugao. But of course had he done so, he would had risked blowing their cover and with it the entire mission. No one had been excited for the mission, a mission that was supposed to be a 'reward' for their outstanding record as a team for the last year. Instead it was coming across like a punishment.

Even so, if they were to succeed with bringing the disgusting pig, Unagi to justice, the team would be rewarded well beyond the normal pay-grade of an 'S' Class mission. Kakashi had been assured that was the case after he had protested the main crux of the plan which was using one of the female members of the team as bait.

"Because this criminal is wanted by multiple nations, we are all chipping in to pay for her capture. I understand as captain of Team Ro that you should want to protect your teammates, however, by capturing this criminal you will ensure the safety of hundreds of children across the continent." Lord Third had explained before Kakashi had formally agreed to accept the mission.

And accept he had, for what could he do when faced with the prospect of letting this monster destroy the lives of children, children who were his own country-man? No, even Kakashi could never claim to be that selfish.

 _None of that matters now,_ Kakashi told himself, _I can make sure she is safe…along with Yugao._ Luckily he caught that thought and stopped it before it could go anywhere…inappropriate. _As well as the future generation._

The three flickered out of their lodgings and began to move.

* * *

The music throbbed in Sumi's ears, causing her pulse to do the same. She scanned the bar like she had been doing for most of the night in regular intervals, every five minutes. It was still early when one was considering the night life in Hidden Mist, yet the bar was packed. She and Yugao had been in 'training' the entire day (if that was what one would call entertaining a group of notorious criminals) and she felt certain that her trap had been set and sprung.

The second function of the Genjutsu, along with making them more 'appealing' also served to attract a particular person. In this case, she had cast it to be particularly attractive to the Unagi himself. It wasn't so much that Sumi could _force_ the man to be attracted to him, it was that she had set up her spell to suggest heavily that the man _should,_ no _, had_ get to know one of them or it would drive him crazy. And it had been working as soon as she could see his face and he could see both of theirs. As long has he had taken the bait, the rest would take care of itself. All Sumi had to do was to wait.

"Excuse me miss, Yoshi wants to see you."

Bingo.

The man who had spoken was the second bodyguard from earlier in the day, the Mist-nin who even now seemed to be sporting a rise in his color just from looking at her. _Maybe I cast it a little too strong…?_ She thought dubiously. Not that it really mattered right in this moment.

"Oh, well I am about to begin my shift, he won't mind if I am a little late?" She asked sweetly.

"No, he asked for you personally, please follow me."

Glancing swiftly at Yugao, smiling and waving in a way that told her teammate that their plan was unwinding flawlessly, she followed the big Mist-nin down the same hallway she had traversed earlier. They walked until they came upon the meeting room, which they both entered, only to find it unoccupied.

"I thought you said Mr. Yoshi would be here?" She asked, confusion clear in her voice.

"I lied."

Suddenly, all Sumi could see was darkness, then nothing.

* * *

Sumi practically sprinted back to her apartment, getting there in record time thanks to the lateness (or was it earliness?) of the hour. _Thank you? Who the hell thanks someone when they say they love you to them?!_ Finally, only when her door shut solidly behind her did she allow tears to fall down her cheeks.

Her mind overwhelmed her in that moment, a thousand thoughts seemed to pass behind her eyes all at once.

 _How could you have been so stupid?!_

 _Of course Kakashi doesn't think about you that way, Aoba was dead wrong!_

 _Now he's going to hate you and think you are some clingy civilian-type girl._

 _How could you have ruined everything?!_

Slowly, will painful precision, she replayed all of the night's events in her mind's eye. From her spur-of-the-moment decision to visit Kakashi in the middle of the night, to her equally impulsive decision to blurt out her innermost secret. Seriously, how could the night have turned out so bad, so fast? _Because, this is what always happens when you get close to someone. It happened to Rin, it happened to Lord Forth and Kushina…and now, Kakashi._

Just thinking about it caused her to cringe in shame and discomfort. And lastly, with fear.

She sank to the floor of her apartment, tears of insurmountable feeling running down her face. She sat there for what seemed like ages until she finally came to herself and forced her body to respond enough that she could fall into bed. She stared off into a dark corner of her room, only able to sleep when the first fingers of dawn crept their way over the walls of the Village.

It was around noon when the messenger hawk woke her by tapping furiously on the window. She rose groggily, blinking her eyes and mussing her hair out of her face in some effort to gather her surroundings. She made her way to the window and opened it to collect the message. It contained a simple sentence: _The Hokage has Summoned You._

Well, no need to sign it, she supposed. It wasn't until she was partially dressed that she remembered, quite shockingly, the events of the night before. It hit her like a punch to the gut, and she hadn't felt that in years. Cringing at the unpleasant memory, she shoved her head through the neck hole of her mission gear, and thoroughly shoved the memory from her mind. _If Kakashi has no intention of meeting me with his feelings, then I have no intention of dragging this out any longer,_ she thought, logically minded and intent on being anything but the pathetic, unwanted love interest.

With her rage to motivate her, she headed swiftly to the center of the Village.


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy New Year Everyone! I wanted to say thank you for all the support by updating twice in one week! Thanks for being patient with me, its been a joy to share this with all of you! Plus this chapter has a surprise, one of my favorite characters comes in. As always, please let me know what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Show Time

"You want me to help proctor one of the exams?"

"Yes, with your skills in the field, the second exam could use your assistance, what with one of our original volunteers out of commission with the flu." Lord Third said distractedly as he shifted through multiple stacks of paper, pipe hanging precariously from his bottom lip.

Finding what he was looking for, he gestured absently to Sumi to take a piece of paper. It was an official form detailing the expectations and duties of a proctor for the Chunin exams. She took it, quickly reading through it in case she had any questions that needed to be cleared up by the Hokage. It appeared to be a simple assignment, she was to monitor the boundary of the Forest of Death and provide assistance for any examinees who should find themselves in need of it.

"Anko-chan will be the main proctor for that exam, and as she has done it for the past several years, I am sure she would be more than happy to answer any questions should they come up. Sorry for the short notice, after all the exam is next week." The Hokage met her eyes and Sumi immediately knew that there was no mysterious 'flu'. Something else had happened, but she simply didn't have high enough clearance to be informed just what that something was.

"Of course Lord Hokage, I thank you for the chance to serve." She bowed and took her leave but his voice stopped her.

"Before you go, Sumi-chan, is there anything you need to tell me?" She turned to look at him. Lord Third, one of the greatest of the Hidden Leaf, the Professor as they called him, taking a special interest in her. She must really look a wreck.

"Of course not Lord Third. Is there anything you need to ask?" Her question was genuine. She let him know that she was alright, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle, but if he wished it, she would tell him.

"No, I suppose not. Good day, and thanks again for taking up this last-minute assignment. I know how you have been busy with the patrols."

"Happy to do it, Lord Hokage." Happy to have something else to think about other than Kakashi, she thought. And she took her leave.

As she walked back to her apartment, blissfully free of Kakashi-thoughts for the moment, she nearly walked straight into Kurenai.

"Oh! Geeze, I'm sorry Kurenai-chan, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but you look like shit. What happened?"

She could feel the lie on her lips, she was so ready to say the same lie she had told Lord Third just minutes earlier. But somehow, looking into Kurenai's concerned face, she just couldn't do it. Her fierce resolve, the one she had been keeping up for the last twenty-four hours crumpled around her face. And it that was all it took for Kurenai to whisk her back to her place.

"…You…and Kakashi?" She asked, truly dumb-founded. "…For FOUR years? And you never said a word. Not to me, not to Anko-chan. Why not?"

Sumi sat on Kurenai's couch in the middle of her apartment. The same apartment she had lived in since they were Chunin and she had finally saved up enough money for the down payment herself. The apartment that they had shared so many 'girls' nights', and so many secrets. But for Sumi, it had never been the biggest secret: her relationship with Kakashi.

"We had originally agreed to keep it a secret. Ever since…well, ever since our ANBU days." Sumi replied quietly.

Kurenai's expression changed drastically from hurt and shock to dawning understanding. Kurenai had never been a part of ANBU, but she had known that both Sumi and Kakashi had been, hell, both of them still sported the tell-tale tattoos on their shoulders. It was hard to miss.

"I never knew you were on the same team. That's…shocking."

Sumi merely nodded.

"Was that when…you started seeing each other?"

"Yeah, that's when it started. It was actually a pretty awful situation to tell the truth. At first anyway."

"Can you tell me?" Kurenai asked tentatively, not wanting to push her too much.

"I can tell you…certain things. Not about our mission of course. But about how it happened."

"Alright, but let me get another bottle of wine first."

"Yes please."

* * *

Sumi blinked her eyes slowly, though it made little difference as it was as dark with her eyes open as with them shut. She felt around instinctively, noting as she did so that her hands and feet had not been bound. Good, it appeared that her abductors had no suspicions of her true powers. She appeared to have been laid on a sizable bed, the sheets felt smooth under her and she felt multiple pillows next to her head.

She stopped her shifting enough to listen and heard no noticeable sounds other than her unsteady breathing and the thumping of her heart. Though it was going according to plan, Sumi was nervous. Finally, she felt down her body and noted that her clothes were still the ones she had been wearing earlier. She appeared to have been searched as some of the folds of the outfit were disheveled and one of the ties for the sleeves had been undone.

However, the person who had completed the search had done a sloppy job. She still maintained the choke wire that had been sewn into the hem of her dress along with the long Senbon needles that had been enclosed into the fabric of her underclothes, especially the boning of the corset-like brassier.

Easy, too easy. Her eyes narrowed. It shouldn't be this easy to kill a criminal wanted in multiple countries. Alarm bells were going off in Sumi's head. She had just about made up her mind to make her way to one of the walls when footsteps met her ears from out in the hall.

"Is she still out?" Came the rough tones of the Unagi, her target.

"Yes sir, Jiro gave her an impressive dose of the sleeping solution with her last meal. She should be out for at least a few more minutes."

 _Last meal? I don't remember—_

"Good, I'm sure our newest client will be very happy with having a Kunoichi like her to play with."

All the blood in Sumi's veins seemed to freeze. They called her a Kunoichi. They knew. But how? And why hadn't they done anything to restrain her?

The guard laughed and Sumi felt instantly ill. Someone had sold them out, and worse yet, Sumi had no idea where she was or how long she had been out. She fought down her panic in an effort to hear what came next.

"Alright, the client will be here in a few minutes, make sure our guest is…manageable for him."

"Of course sir." And the footsteps retreated.

Sumi had about half a second to lay back down in the bed before the door creaked open revealing the Hidden-Mist guard from the bar, she kept her eyes closed, but was able to recognize his chakra signature

"Alright now, sleeping beauty, we got to get you up and looking good for the customer."

Sumi waited, she waited for just the right moment. The guard shifted his weight slightly so that he could lean down to wake Sumi. She struck.

Ripping out one of the Senbon from her left side she raised it and stabbed the guard in just the right spot, effectively immobilizing him, but not killing him. She rose up and caught him before he could hit the floor and lowered him gently, highly encumbered by his dead-weight.

Once he was safely on the ground, she reached to her right side and ripped a second needle from her bodice, placing the tip next to a pressure-point they both knew would cause instant death should he make one wrong move.

The guard raised his eyebrows, unable to do anything else below his neck.

"Alright big guy, you know how this will work. You give me the answers I need, and I spare you. I'll even knock you out and give you a few bumps to make it look like you actually fought me off. Spill."

He glared at her, attempting defiance and playing her for time.

Sumi didn't buy it.

"I _said_ spill. Our maybe I miscalculated how much loyalty you have for your boss. Enough to die for him? Enough to be permanently crippled for him? Which would you prefer?"

His resolve shattered.

"We are in the Land of Hot Water. The boss had me knock you out and package you up."

"How long have I been out? And don't you dare lie." She poked him threateningly.

He flinched, but responded. "Three days, enough to move you out of Hidden Mist and into the buyer's hands."

"Who's the buyer?"

"An ex-Mist Shinobi, S-class. His name is Hoshigaki Kisame."

"What is it with Hidden Mist and their-sea names?" She asked no-one in particular.

"Well," He tried to answer.

"Never mind." She signed and roughly pulled out the needle at just the right angle, causing no permanent damage, but instant unconsciousness.

It looked like her instincts had been right after all. It was too easy.

* * *

Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he had been this worried about something. Probably not since Kushina and Lord Fourth's fight with the fox, he reflected to himself. Matsumi was missing, had been for hours if Yugao's frantic calculations had been correct.

"Calm down Yugao-chan, explain again what happened."

"Well, we were admitted just like our contact said we would be and we were introduced to the Unagi. He trained us for most of the day, nothing too serious, just rules and guidelines we were to follow part of our 'services'. Then, we were placed out on the floor to watch and observe what some of the other girls were doing and were asked to do the same. I was talking to one of the other guests, nothing too serious, just trying to blend in, when I saw that Sumi had been summoned to the back room. She nodded the signal to me, letting me know that the Unagi had summoned her, just like in our plan. I waited for her, but an hour passed and I grew suspicious. I excused myself from the floor to use the restroom and made my way to the back of the building.

"I saw…no sign of her…or of Unagi. I checked every area of the bar including the rooms for her chakra signature, and I found nothing. I could only assume that something had gone wrong and that she had been moved. I immediately left my post to come and find you, and here we are."

"I understand, you did well Yugao, there wasn't anything else you could do without blowing your cover and putting everyone on the team at risk. At this point, we can only assume that wherever Matsumi-chan is, Unagi is there also. Itachi-kun…remind me again how good you are at tracking."

* * *

Sumi moved stealthily through the building. It appeared to be some kind of headquarters, something she had deduced both from the layout and from the strategic placement of guards. She knew from her background research that the Land of Hot Water was a typically peaceful country and in the last several Shinobi conflicts, they had been strictly neutral. It was a country that prized itself on helping both sides so that neither could afford to lose its support.

It wasn't surprising that this country was also the site of the Unagi's hideaway.

She moved through the levels, always listening, always on alert. She had adjusted her Genjutsu slightly. No longer focused on being noticed by others, she had tweaked it so that she was far less obvious. People would really have to focus on her to see her, and as a result, she slipped by many a guard bored out of his mind.

She made it all the way to the ground floor from the top level where she had been kept when she heard his voice.

"Hoshigaki-san, welcome to our establishment! We are honored that you have requested our services."

"Thanks for being able to fulfill my request…I understand it was a hard one to complete." A new voice said, this one surprised Sumi at how…normal it sounded.

"Yes…I believe your specifications were a 'fiery Kunoichi for my pleasure'. Yes, I think she will fit all of your expectations." Said the Unagi.

Sumi peeked around the wall, still at least ten feet from the pair of men, and almost pitched forward with surprise. _What the hell is he?!_ She thought to herself, for the 'normal' voice seemed to belong to a huge blue man. She shuddered when she saw that the man's face seemed to resemble a shark, complete with gills and pointed teeth shown when he grinned at something else the Unagi said. As she continued to stare at him, he cocked his head and grinned again.

"I think you were right indeed, Unagi. She is fiery…but I didn't expect you to allow her to meet me at the entrance."

Sumi froze in absolute terror.

"…What do you mean, Hoshigaki-san?"

Faster than Sumi would have ever thought possible, the blue man was in front of her.

"Clever, to use such a high-level Genjutsu, powerful enough to avoid obvious detection, but low enough chakra output that no one except the exceptional would ever sense it. Girlie, I think you will do me just fine."

"Hoshigaki-san, my deepest apologies. She was supposed to be waiting for you upstairs. Please accept my deepest apologies."

"No problem, besides, I'll take my compensation and be on my way."

"Your compensation?" The man asked, confusion and alarm both flitted across his face.

Hoshigaki merely grinned and Sumi became afraid of another Shinobi for the first time in a long time. The giant man reached behind his head for the equally giant word strapped to his back and in one fell swoop he cleaved the Unagi in two.

Sumi, too stunned for words, blinked at the pile of flesh and blood that her target had previously inhabited. He hadn't even screamed.

"Alright girlie, we have places to go. You can come quietly…or not. I never was turned off by a woman's scream." He grinned at her, somehow finding humor in a situation that was anything but funny.

"I'll come quietly." Was her only reply.

Yes, this mission was anything but easy.

* * *

Kakashi ground his foot into the dirt in frustration and in an effort to scrunch the feeling of nausea from his stomach. It didn't help. They had traveled for three days after finding their lead to the Land of Hot Water. After the use of extensive questioning with locals and Itachi's tracking skills, they were able to find the trail.

And despite all of their efforts, the group of four seemed to have arrived hours too late. The headquarters were in chaos, it seemed that a customer, the one who had bought Matsumi, had also paid his respects to the establishment by killing the Unagi. And with him died countless ways that the countries could have tracked their stolen children.

There was much to be frustrated about, Kakashi told himself. But he was beginning to believe that his feelings were too strong, even for a situation such as this.

Luckily, the mission on one end was still salvageable. Yamato was able to capture one of the Unagi's lieutenants, Yuki Ichi. It was there that Kakashi had made a tough decision. He was splitting up Team Ro.

"Taichou! You can't do that, Team Ro functions as one unit!" Was Yugao's protest.

"I agree, it isn't a good move." Yamato added.

Itachi said nothing, but looked at Kakashi, sudden understanding dawning on his young face.

"As captain, I am making the call. I need you to respect that. Yamato-kun and Yugao-chan will return to Konaha, Yuki Ichi here in tow. Itachi-kun and I will go forward and continue to look for Matsumi-chan. That decision is final. I expect you two to deliver at least part of what was promised and to give a full report. Explain to the Hokage that we were sold out. There was a rat somewhere down the line. Inform Lord Third that we will return with Matsumi…dead or alive." He clenched his fists hard at his last words.

Reluctantly, Yamato and Yugao followed his instructions, each wishing them luck and to return safely. Finally, only Kakashi and Itachi were left alone.

"Taichou…I believe I know the answer to this, but please humor me. Why did you ask me to stay behind?"

Kakashi signed deeply, Itachi still amazed him on occasion with powers of perception, even one year after working side-by-side. It was in that moment that Kakashi knew that if they returned to Konaha in one piece, he would recommend Itachi to head his own squad.

"For one simple reason, Itachi-kun. You and I both have it: the Sharingan."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! Here's chapter ten! This one was a little harder to write, but I think I got it where it needs to go. Let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Rescue…sort of

"Alright girlie, we need to get you out of those clothes." Kisame Hoshigaki said.

Sumi stared at him, totally thrown for a loop. The big, blue man had taken her, bodily, from the headquarters of her target after murdering him in cold blood with his equally monstrous sword. Sumi had not bothered with trying to escape because unlike the Unagi and his inexperienced and unprofessional thugs, Hoshigaki had utilized a chakra sealing jutsu. It was actually a very complex technique requiring a large amount of chakra from the user, enough to overwhelm and seal the target's chakra with his own.

That was two days ago, and Sumi had been following the swordsmen through rough terrain, passing completely though the Land of Hot Water, on their way to Takigakure, the Land of Waterfalls. Because Sumi's chakra had been locked, Hoshigaki had been forced to carry her when her natural strength ebbed from their constant movement. It had been uncomfortable.

Finally, after two days they were on the outskirts of the Land of Waterfalls, and Hoshigaki was staring at her expectantly, mouth stretched into an almost feral grin.

"Wait just a minute Hoshigaki, I thought you told me you _didn't_ need my help with something like _that._ " She said, going instantly on guard. Chakra or no chakra, she wouldn't be subjected to something like that. She would die first.

"Ha! Don't misunderstand me Kunoichi. Sure, you are pretty sexy, but you aren't my type." He chuckled to himself, showing off his pointed teeth. "I only meant that the clothes you are in are pretty inappropriate for what I need you for. Luckily, I have something better." He rummaged around in his pack for a few minutes before producing a wad of women's clothes. Civilian women's clothes.

"Put these on, I'll turn around and give you complete privacy. Just don't try to do anything stupid like stab me in the back. I'll hear it coming long before you could succeed." He spoke jokingly, but Sumi knew it was anything but.

She waited until he was completely turned around and seemingly absorbed in a small scroll he had taken out with the clothes. She looked at him for a moment longer before turning her own attention to what was in front of her. The outfit was a simple set of pants and a shirt. Both were cut in a feminine style.

The shirt was longer and came to her knees; it had cuts up the sides so that her pants could be seen. The pants themselves were shorter, only reaching to her mid-calves. All-in-all, they were of a nice quality and were a much better choice than the outfit she had been wearing to pose as an entertainer. She quickly changed, feeling instantly better to be in a clean, and less revealing, outfit.

"By the way girlie, you can just call me Kisame, don't bother with any honorifics. They make my skin crawl." Kisame said, still facing away from her.

Sumi paused from doing up the last set of buttons for her new shirt at the sound of his voice. Knowing as she did so, that he had not asked her for her name since they had first met. She studied the back of the larger Shinobi, weighing her options.

"You can call me Matsumi. Now, tell me what it is you need me for so I can go home."

"Not just yet, girlie. We need to move closer to our objective for that."

"And just what is our objective?"

"I said, not just yet. Don't be so impatient. We will camp here for the night; we need to wait for the others to catch up."

Sumi was instantly on guard. "What others?"

"Don't you worry, girlie. I am sure they won't hurt you." He smiled his signature grin. Sumi was sure she would have nightmares about it once this was done and over with.

"And just why should I cooperate with you?"

Kisame laughed. Sumi was starting to hate him a bit.

"Because I have something the Hidden Leaf wants."

* * *

Kakashi was sure that they were catching up. He and Itachi had been running for a least a day and a half. They had followed the trail across the Land of Hot Water and several neighboring countries. They were careful to always wear their ANBU masks and to avoid any other troupes of Shinobi, especially from Earth or Wind country.

"Taichou, the trail picks up over there." Itachi's low voice informed Kakashi.

"Good, it looks like he blocked Matsumi's chakra, but his own signature isn't masked at all. It's almost like the man is expecting us to follow him." Kakashi responded, concern obvious in his voice.

"I agree." Itachi said.

Both men sped up significantly.

It was just before dawn when they closed in on their prey. Kakashi crouched low in the trees, Itachi several paces to his right. The two studied the landscape. It appeared that the larger Shinobi was resting comfortable against the tree but judging from his breathing, he wasn't asleep. Matsumi was nearby, he could see her, but Kakashi was only able to sense her now that he was within several yards of her person.

She appeared to be un-hurt, though she was wearing different clothes since Kakashi had seen her last. Kakashi glanced at Itachi and held his hand up, readying himself to lose the silent signal. If he knew Matsumi, she was no-more asleep that the larger Shinobi was.

He readied himself for the strike, it would take all of their combined efforts to immobilize the other man, but before he could even lower his hand several things happened very fast. The larger man's eyes snapped open, and he lunged to the side and grabbed Matsumi around the neck, pressing a very sharp kunai to her pulse-point.

"Don't move a muscle." The older Shinobi said. "Come out slowly, or I can't promise that I would be too careful with this one's pretty neck."

Kakashi could see Matsumi was struggling, but she was helpless as any civilian with the monster's chakra block in effect. "…What do you want?" Kakashi said though his ANBU mask, he and Itachi still covered by the natural foliage at the edge of the clearing.

"For starters, exactly what I said. Come out slowly. Both of you. Or I can't guarantee my hands won't slip."

Kakashi thought furiously for some way out of the situation. He thought about Genjutsu, but he and Itachi were both too far away for either of theirs to have any effect. He thought about any kind of evasive maneuver, but with Matsumi this man's prisoner (his blood boiled at the very thought) there wasn't much he could do without the man killing her outright. Finally, he came to his inevitable decision.

Kakashi jumped down first, Itachi following shortly after. Both ANBU operatives moved slowly into the clearing, staying alert and diligent in case the wayward ninja had any allies. They came within five yards of the Hidden Mist-nin and Kakashi frowned beneath both of his masks. The man was tall, taller even that Guy; he must have been about seven feet in height. His skin was blue; there really wasn't any other word for it. The man was as blue as the ocean water's that surrounded his native home. Looking closer at face, Kakashi could make out striking lines that appeared to be…gills. The man looked like some type of fish.

Then he smiled.

Not just any fish then, a shark.

"I'll ask you again, missing-nin, what do you want?" Kakashi's tone was dangerous, acidic. He didn't like the way the shark's hands were clenched around Matsumi's neck. He didn't like the way he was holding her against his body, both muscular arms wrapped around her slight frame, kunai pressed against her jugular tightly enough to cause a trickle of blood to run down her throat.

"I want you help, actually." He said, laughter, though un-voiced, was clear in his tone.

"You want us to help you…after you kidnap one of our teammates…from a rival Hidden Village…drag her across three countries…and force us to pursue her? Are you insane?"

"Exactly, for the most part anyway. Not too sure about that last bit myself." He said as if the four of them were having lunch at a friendly sit-down restaurant and not squaring off in a life-or-death struggle. "But then, it doesn't really matter, does it? I could be insane, certainly, but I have the upper hand. And, really, isn't that _always_ the way these things go?" He grinned, displaying his pointed predatory teeth.

Kakashi watched the man press slightly harder on Matsumi's neck, causing her to flinch as the sharp metal cut into her flesh, an even sharper reminder about how right the Mist-nin was.

"Well," said Kisame Hoshigaki. "What's your choice?"

* * *

Kakashi was ready to beat his head into the wall the next morning. After Sumi left his apartment, he had fallen into a fitful sleep. It didn't seem to matter to his mind that his body was beaten and exhausted beyond all recognition from his most recent mission for his mind had never stopped re-playing the disastrous encounter from the night before.

 _Its official, everyone. Kakashi Hatake is the most idiotic person in the entire world._ He thought bitterly to himself. He wandered around his apartment for several hours before finally deciding he should look through the endless pile of mail that had accumulated in his absence. He flicked through, bill, bill, junk mail, bill, bill junk mail, letter from the Hokage announcing the Chunin exams would be held in Konaha, bill—

The Chunin exams!

Kakashi stopped himself and immediately went back to read the letter. The Chunin exams would be held in Konaha this year, maybe that's why Sumi had been out so late patrolling. He had to admit that when she first said it he had found it to be odd. Now it all made sense. During the exams, when many foreign Shinobi would be present in the Village, was an excellent time for an attack. The Hidden Leaf couldn't appear vulnerable in the slightest.

Kakashi rubbed the letter thoughtfully between his thumb and middle finger.

That decided it; he needed to go see the Hokage. It looked like he would have something else to think about today after all.

* * *

"You want to enter Team Seven in the Chunin exams?" Lord Third said, his ever-present pipe burning itself out on his lips.

"Yes sir, I think you will agree that after our most recent mission, they are more than ready."

"…And I thought I was the only one smoking something." Lord Third muttered under his breath.

Kakashi wisely chose not to respond, waiting with his signature eye-crinkle.

"Are you sure about this, Kakashi-kun?" Hiruzen said looking at the Jounin quizzically.

"Yes, they are more than ready. This is the perfect opportunity to not only show just how much they have grown in their skills, but also to show how much they have grown as a team."

"Very well, I trust your insight into your own team." Lord Third said finally, before turning back to his paperwork.

Kakashi inclined his head slightly at the Hokage and turned to leave, though Lord Third's voice stopped him.

"Kakashi, before you go, is there anything you need to tell me?"

"Of course not Lord Hokage. Is there anything you need to ask?" Kakashi said, his voice practically oozing the message ' _don't go there'_ at the older man.

Hiruzen blinked and then frowned at Kakashi as though he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"Lord Third?" Kakashi asked after a minute or so of the other's man's careful examination. "Is everything alright?"

"Have you ever had déjà vu?"

"…no? I don't think so anyway." Kakashi asked, thoroughly confused as he rubbed the back of his head, feeling as he did so the usual messy scruff of his hair.

"…never mind." Lord Third said abruptly. "Just make sure you get the paperwork in to me by the end of the day for the Chunin exams.

"Yes sir."

* * *

Matsumi Kurama had always wanted to be a Kunoichi. She had wanted to be one since she was old enough to know the meaning of the word. Her entire family had been Shinobi, even, suppressed as they were, by the Uchiha. She recalled countless hours of her life that were spent in preparation for that eventual roll. She recalled the struggles, the endless training sessions, the constant missing out of the 'usual' adolescent activities. But she had always told herself, the end results would be worth it.

Now however, she was sitting in an unknown forest close to an unknown village with not just an S-class criminal, but also her two ANBU teammates. Both of whom were possibly some of the strongest and most talented Shinobi Konaha had ever seen. And all three of them had their hands proverbially tied by the seemingly random whims of a large shark-man.

Perhaps Sumi should have become a veterinarian.

"Alright fish-face, what is it that you want?" Kakashi's voice said irritably through his mask. Sumi could tell immediately that he was frustrated with the situation. But, who wouldn't be?

Kakashi sat on the other side of the fire that Itachi had thoughtfully lit for the four of them. The smaller ninja sat close by Kakashi, Sharingan activated and ready to counter any movement that Kisame made that could indicate an attack.

"I already told you, pip-squeak. I need the help of Leaf Shinobi for this one. One of whom needs to be this Kunoichi here. And in return, I'll give you something that your village will be most interested to have returned to them."

"Why Leaf Shinobi? And why a Kunoichi?" Itachi's low voice breathed through his mask, his hands wrapped tightly around his knees.

"Because, you all are the only ones that can get into the building. And I need girlie here to be a decoy for me." Kisame leaned forward slightly and began to outline his plan. Afterwards, he leaned back, obviously highly amused by the shocked expressions on his would-be companion's faces.

Yes, a veterinarian would have been a safer choice.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! So sorry it took me so long to update. Honestly this chapter was bear to write and I am so happy it's finally done. I can't wait to get to the next part. As always let me know your thoughts! Thanks so much for reading!**

 **I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

Chapter 11: The Unexpected Mission

Kakashi was on first watch. The 'mission', if you could call it that, would begin at first light. He settled against a large tree, knowing as he did so that even if he was the designated watchman, Kisame Hoshigake was wide awake across the clearing. No self-respecting Shinobi would ever trust another he had just met. Especially not one who had been on the run.

He narrowed his miss-matched eyes in distaste. He resented the entire situation, had wanted to refuse, rescue Matsumi and be on his way. But, after hearing…and seeing what the blue man was offering, Kakashi found that he couldn't refuse.

Kisame had offered Matsumi, Kakashi, and Itachi valuable information concerning the defected Leaf Shinobi only on the condition that they would aid him in return. He had warned them that he wouldn't unlock Matsumi's chakra until they had come to an agreement and completed the mission. And if they chose to betray him…well, he had made it quite clear that her chakra could stay locked if that was the case. And good luck getting her all the way back to Hidden Leaf with no chakra, he had warned.

Kakashi had been livid at that point in the conversation. This _mercenary_ had not only succeeded in capturing one of the top ANBU in Hidden Leaf, he had also rendered her completely inoperable. Without chakra, Matsumi was about as useful as a fallen log.

Kisame had then explained that he had been hired by the Land of Waterfalls to take down the abdominal organization that operated within their borders. However, he had realized after scouting the situation that he needed assistance. For his plan to succeed, he needed a Kunoichi…which he had found easily accessible in his home country of Hidden Mist. Though, he had admitted, he hadn't been expecting a Hidden Leaf Shinobi.

Kakashi's mind ran back through the conversation which had occurred several hours earlier.

* * *

"But why didn't you simply rush in and kill them all like you did at the other branch in Hidden Mist?" Sumi had asked, skepticism written on her entire face. "You _are_ strong enough, and have more than enough chakra."

"Because girlie, my employer, one of the top brass of Land of Waterfalls, had close family members taken by the organization. I believe they were his niece and nephew, thirteen year-olds, twins, and civilians. He instructed me to find them and destroy the organization once I assured their safety. Without them, I don't get my money. Since the other branch wasn't involved in their disappearance, it didn't matter if I killed the leaders or not. Especially once I secured your cute little butt." The blue man had said, lips curling around a grin that was most unpleasant.

"You have secured nothing. We have no proof that this other leader is in any way affiliated with Leaf. At this point we should take you into our custody for abducting a Leaf Shinobi without cause." Kakashi's voice had cut through the night, challenging the other ninja, dislike for him mounting every time he called Matsumi 'girlie'. He had needed to resist the urge to stab the man with a kunai for mentioning Matsumi's back-side.

Kisame had grinned as though he was enjoying Kakashi's rage and reached inside his shirt to pull out a packet of papers. He had then tossed them casually in the dirt in front of Kakashi, his ANBU mask still firmly set in place. He had eyed the larger ninja with supreme distaste and grabbed the papers, leafing through them.

He had blinked when he realized what they contained and read more closely, then faster and faster. Finally, he reached the page he was looking for and his entire body tensed with the force of the information that the papers contained.

Kakashi then finished reading and wordlessly handed the packed to Matsumi. She had reached for them and read them quickly, then stopped and read them again. Finally, she handed them to Itachi whose actions mirrored those of the other two. It had seemed that the packet contained data concerning the missing Leaf-nin including personal history, rank and other various things. The papers looked like pages not only from the Bingo Book but also from collected observations and reports of different people.

On one page, the page that had caused the collected reactions from the members of Team Ro, had been a hand-written note from the Third Hokage offering reward money for information concerning anyone who could be connected to the Nine-tail's attack on the Village five years ago. On it was a list of suspects…including the missing Leaf-nin. It had the Hokage's official seal. And even if that wasn't enough, it contained the man's name: Toshi Kurama. Their target had been revealed to be a member of the Kurama clan, the same clan to which Matsumi belonged.

Kakashi had watched Matsumi's reaction for any indication that she would disagree or have some objection on the grounds that they would be hunting one of her kinsmen. It took a few moments, he could almost see her weighing the choices in her mind, until she looked up and met Kakashi's eyes with such hardened resolve that it made his heart clench with a fierce pride.

"I'm in." Matsumi had said.

Kakashi had looked towards Itachi who was also gazing at Matsumi through his ANBU mask.

"If Taichou agrees…I will accept the mission." He had said, careful as always in his decisions and in his speech.

"I also agree. But," Kakashi had amended, "You still haven't explained why you need a Kunoichi. What do you mean you need a decoy?"

Kisame's lips spread in a slow smile, one that had given Kakashi goosebumps. "Well, every trap needs its prize, every fishing line needs it's bait. And she certainly is at that." And had explained

* * *

Kakashi clenched one of his fists tightly to stifle the feeling of revulsion he had over the idea of Matsumi acting like bait _again_. It seemed that Kisame's plan included Matsumi acting like a decoy and becoming part of the merchandise of this new establishment.

It seemed that one of the organization's tactics was to advertise good paying jobs for young civilian men and women. Once those individuals presented themselves to apply, they would be taken inside and eventually smuggled out of the city and into the human trafficking trade once they had collected enough victims. All the while, their families completely under the impression that they were out seeking employment.

In order to locate the hostages that Kisame had been hired to retrieve, they needed someone on the inside. That someone would be Matsumi.

She would present herself under the guise of a civilian woman, and with her chakra locked by Kisame; it would be impossible to tell the difference. Once inside, she would un-lock her chakra using the seal release that Kisame had taught her and proceed to locate the hostages. Once she located them, she would signal the other three using her jutsu and they would spring into action, taking the building down piece-by-piece. Kakashi and Itachi had been given the task of locating the Leaf-nin, one Toshi Kurama.

A man who was one of Matsumi's own kinsmen.

He drove his fist into the ground in anger; thankfully the sound was muffled by the thick grass. It just didn't sit right with him. He knew that it really was in the best interest of the mission and for Hidden Leaf for them to participate but he just couldn't stand the thought of Matsumi putting herself in harm's way, especially in _that_ way for any reason whatsoever.

Kakashi stopped himself for what seemed like the thousandth time during this bastard of a mission to intervene in his own thoughts. _You are her ANBU captain, she is in your charge so it's natural that you feel concerned, but Matsumi is a very competent Shinobi…no reason to feel…jealous_.

He winced like he had been stung.

He couldn't even bare to think of the word.

He folded his arms across his chest and sat back firmly into the tree, pushing the thought far away and out of his mind.

"Taichou?" said a soft voice.

Kakashi almost flew three feet up in the air. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Matsumi approach.

"Matsumi-chan, I thought you would be sleeping. I decided I would be taking first watch."

"Yes you did," she conceded. "But your shift is over and I said I would take second watch." She eyed him with concern.

Had he really been so distracted that four hours had slipped by without him noticing?

"You don't look well Kakashi-kun, you should get some rest. It hasn't been an easy mission for any of us. I'm sorry that my role caused you an Itachi-kun to come so far out of the way for me. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble and botched our original mission."

"No…don't say that. There was nothing you could have done, nothing any of us could have done. It's only clear in hindsight. No fault of yours." He didn't want her to blame herself for any of it; he was just overwhelmingly glad that she was alright and that she was safe. It wasn't a feeling that he thought was out of place in that moment.

Matsumi smiled at his response, and his heart beat faster to see it.

"…Taichou?"

"Yes?" he asked, leaning in a little closer to her even though he still sported both his usual back mask and his Dog ANBU mask.

"Did you want me to still take second watch?"

"Oh. Yes, that's fine. Now that you mention it, I am pretty tired."

Matsumi shuffled closer to sit next to him.

"Then sleep, Kakashi-kun. I'll stand watch."

And with that Kakashi slipped into a dreamless sleep. Eventually, unconsciously, leaning his head against Matsumi's shoulder. She didn't try to move him until morning.

* * *

Sumi hardened her grip on Kisame's enormous bicep. She tried to stay in stride with the larger man, but it was difficult given that he was about two feet taller than her.

"Quit struggling. I told you to act natural." Kisame hissed at her through his crooked smile.

"I'm trying. You have no idea how hard it is to walk in heels. How do civilian women do this every day?"

"That shouldn't be too hard for you girlie. I thought you were a professional." He grinned.

She huffed and chose not to answer. They continued forward at a leisurely walk, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Sumi glanced up as they neared their target. The building in question belonged to another sect of the group the Unagi had created. This one operated in much the same way, but had branched after becoming too large to remain inconspicuous and the group moved to open a new location in Hidden Mist. This location and the other operated in much the same fashion, though this one was headed by a different man.

As it turned out, the new leader had been the Unagi's right hand-man…and also known as the defected Leaf Shinobi, Toshi Kurama. One that Konaha had been hunting ever since his disappearance three years previously. Sumi narrowed her eyes as she recalled the wad of papers that Kisame had presented the night before.

The man's last name didn't escape Sumi's notice. This was a member of her own clan, though he was much older than her and not someone she could ever remember meeting face-to-face. If it wasn't enough that he could be responsible for attacking the Village, it was certainly enough that he was a member of Sumi's own clan and was knowingly participating and leading a human trafficking ring. And she couldn't just let that go.

Her thoughts continued to whirl as they walked closer to the building. This man may be the one responsible for the Nine-tails attack on the village so many years ago. He may be the one responsible for Lord Forth and Lady Kushina's passing. If that was the case, even if it was at least possible, Matsumi would see that he got what he deserved.

Matsumi eyed the entrance to the building. They approached, arm-in-arm, trying their best to appear calm while still taking in their surroundings. Kisame paused briefly before knocking sharply on the front door. There was a small panel that slid open, reveling two suspicious brown eyes.

"State your business." The voice said more sharply than Kisame's knock.

"I'm here to escort the lady." He nodded at Sumi. "She heard you were offering work for civilians." Kisame replied firmly. He had taken off his headband and changed into civilian-esque clothes, even going so far as to leave his massive sword behind.

"No idea what you are talking about. Leave." The man abruptly shut the panel and this time Sumi was the one to knock impatiently at the door.

"I said, leave." The voice repeated, once more opening the sliding door.

"I heard you…but like he said…I heard you have jobs available." Sumi said it sweetly, leaning forward slightly to give the guard a better view of the inside of her shirt.

"Fine. You can come in and I'll take you to my boss to see what he has available. But I'm not promising anything. _He_ has to stay here." The guard said after a moment, gesturing towards Kisame. He slid shut the panel the second time but Sumi could hear the sounds of several clicks indicating the door was being unlatched.

They stepped forward into the inner hallways of the building. There were several other guards present. One of them approached Sumi and offered to take her to the room where the job applicants were waiting.

Sumi looked forward and deeper into the hallway that stretched before her like some creature's gaping maw. She knew that both Kakashi and Itachi were waiting for them to finish planting their distraction: Sumi. Once she was deeper inside the building, the rest of their plan could commence.

"Are you ready?" Kisame asked.

"Yes, I'll take it from here." She said sweetly at him, pretending to be a friend whom he had dropped off at work.

"Of course." He grinned.

Kisame retreated back out the front door and left Matsumi alone with the guard.

"This way." He said gruffly and Sumi could tell he was uncomfortable looking at her.

 _Interesting. Maybe he knows what happens to pretty girls and boys when they come here. Maybe I can use this to my advantage._

"What kind of jobs do you think your boss has available?" She asked softly, swinging her arms lightly in an effort to appear more girly and innocent.

"No idea. You'll have to ask." Again he said this without looking at her.

Sumi tried several more times to initiate conversation but gave it up in favor of gathering information on her surroundings. She had gone up three levels from the ground floor and the man was taking her into the center of the building. Strategically this made sense. Any prisoners would need to be away from any escape routes or windows where they could signal for help.

Finally they made it to a small room and the guard gestured for her to go inside.

"Wait here, my boss will be in to see you directly." He said this gruffly, eyes averted, and shut the door smartly in Sumi's face.

Before she could respond she heard his footsteps shuffle away. Well, so much for charming information out of the man. She quickly took inventory of the room. No windows and only one door. There was a bench in the corner that appeared to be bolted to the wall which struck her as odd. She inspected the ceiling, no exit there. She stepped across the room and her foot hit something uneven in the floor. She bent down to investigate when the entire thing opened up and down she fell into total darkness.

She didn't even have time to scream.

* * *

Kakashi waited in position with Itachi beside them. They watched from afar as Kisame and Matsumi approached the building. Kakashi was irritated when he saw that Matsumi appeared to be holder the taller man's arm. _Completely irrational,_ he chided himself and attempted to distract his thoughts by conversing with his partner.

"What are your thoughts, Itachi-kun?"

"I have many thoughts, Taichou. To which are you referring?"

Kakashi felt his feelings of irritation increase. So much for distracting himself.

"About…" he waved one hand helplessly in front of him, at a loss for words, "this." He finished lamely.

"About being forced to use one of our teammates as bait in an effort to complete our first mission and also to complete this second mission for which we are ill-prepared?" He replied tonelessly after catching on to Kakashi's spouting body language.

"…yes."

"I believe it was a poor choice to accept the mission, but I too, understand the rationale behind catching this…Kurama clan-member."

"Ah." Kakashi said, perplexed. It was unlike Itachi to agree to anything that seemed like a poor move. "Then why did you agree?"

"If we can catch the one actually responsible for the attack, I believe that would take care of more than a few things." He said that part softly, almost to himself, as if he hadn't heard Kakashi's question.

"…more than a few things?"

"Taichou…do you know who was blamed, though not officially, for the attack?"

Kakashi shook his head. To his knowledge, no one was blamed because there was little to no evidence to go from.

"Though you won't actually hear it in the highest of circles, most of the villagers believe it was the Uchiha who were responsible for the attack." Itachi said this in his usual tone but Kakashi knew it was something that caused the young man discomfort. "After all, the Sharingan is one of the few jutsus that can control a tailed-beast.

"But there was never any evidence for that. Not even the Hokage would—"

"There's the signal." Itachi's voice cut through the rest of the conversation and the two sprang into action, in that moment muscle overcoming thought.

Kakashi shelved his comment for a later time, a later place, whenever that would be.

* * *

In the end, the mission turned out to be a success, but not without some bumps and unexpected bruises. For example, when the floor collapsed inward in what Sumi only realized in the aftermath to be a trap-door, she broke her ankle and one arm in the fall five floors below.

Normally, if her chakra had been unlocked, she could have done any number of things to break her fall. The simplest of which would have been to attach the soles of her feet to the hall. However, she hadn't had enough time to perform the set of complex seals that Kisame had shown her, she had been forced to break her fall the normal way. By landing on her feet and then rolling to the side.

Luckily though, once she landed she quickly discovered that her new prison was shared by several other 'workers' two of whom were the ones Kisame had been hired to recover. Even in excruciating pain, she completed her seals (with difficulty considering the state of her arm) and sent a flare of chakra out far enough to alert her rescuers.

Shakily, she managed to set her own ankle without passing out though the effort left her cold and sweaty from pain. She had some experience with medical jutsu, but it was always harder to practice it on your own body. And the larger the amount of pain, the harder it was to concentrate chakra. She managed to drag herself to a sitting position before she noticed that the rest of the prisoners were bound and gagged. They stared at her with wide eyes, hoping against hope that she would be the one to rescue them.

And that she did.

By the time she was done she had almost blacked out from the pain, but she had managed to free all the prisoners from their bonds. Several crouched beside her and attempted to help, but there was little they could do without a proper medic. Sumi flinched every time someone brushed against her in the small space. She silently prayed that Kakashi and Itachi would come soon. She wasn't sure how much help she could be going forward.

Thankfully she didn't have to wait long, and found that the rest of the event was like a blur. It wasn't until the next day that she realized that she had hit her head as well on the way down, her concussion causing memory loss and confusion. The last thing she remembered was feeling suddenly more tired than she had ever felt in her life as something silver and white clouded in front of her vision.

* * *

Kakashi regarded Matsumi's sleeping form from his spot next to her bedside. They had completed the unexpected mission almost without incident. The sole exception was the fact that Matsumi had unpredictably received severe wounds. The fifty-foot drop into the prisoner's cell would have normally killed a civilian, and with that bastard shark _insisting_ her chakra stay locked so as to provide Masumi with a convincing cover should any Shinobi come calling, she had been basically no more than that.

It was a miracle that Kakashi's teammate hadn't died.

Slowly, he found himself reaching forward to stroke her hand. He hesitated, but grasped it firmly. For some reason being here with her, touching her, it didn't turn on nearly as many alarm bells as he thought it would. It was nice, actually. Being there as a comfort for her like she had come to be for him.

So he stayed like that. Thinking that at the very least Matsumi wouldn't need to know what he had been doing should she wake up.

* * *

Matsumi awoke sometime during the night. She quickly registered two things: one she wasn't in as much pain as she remembered being in the last time she was awake, and two, she didn't appear to be in any immediate danger.

She opened her eyes and the swimming shapes in front of her formed to reveal a small room, white-washed and very clean. She was in a narrow bed, her right arm and left leg bandaged and partially mended by chakra, she could already feel a big difference in how strong her bones were.

As she began to settle back down to sleep again, she stiffened as she realized she wasn't alone in the room. Beside her left arm was a sleeping figure. Upon closer inspection she realized it was Kakashi.

Frowning, she bent to wake him up but ended up looking down to see that his fingers were intertwined with those of her good arm. He had removed his ANBU mask to rest atop his head, his usual black mask still firmly in place over his mouth. He had his one visible eye completely closed, his only movement the slight rise and fall of his back as he breathed deeply.

Matsumi felt her face heat up and her heart beat a little faster at the idea that Kakashi had not only come to stay by her side, he had also fallen asleep holding her hand. She shifted slightly, careful not to disturb him and watched him awhile before she fell back into her own slumber. She did so with a smile on her face and warmth in her heart.

* * *

The next day, the would-be team separated, but not before saying their good-byes. Kisame had directed them to a safe-house in the village the day before that was owned by an aging medic. The medic was more than happy to mend Matsumi's wounds and after Itachi agreed to assist Kisame with the release of the prisoners, Kakashi felt that he could stay behind to ensure her safety.

After that, it was actually a deceptively simple task to capture their prey and from there, the trio prepared to make their way back to Hidden Leaf.

"Well, thanks for your help girlie, maybe we will meet again sometime." Kisame winked at her, much to Kakashi's displeasure, and promptly disappeared presumable to collect his reward.

"Not likely." Kakashi huffed lightly from behind his ANBU mask.

"Are we able to return to the Village now?" Itachi asked through his own mask, holding on tightly to the bound and gagged Toshi Kurama.

"Oh yes, I think so." Sumi said, still obviously in pain physically, and Kakashi suspected, emotionally, from the ordeals of the past week.

The three conscious teammates took their unconscious prize, nodded and flickered out of sight.

* * *

Matsumi swirled the remainder of her wine around in her glass and downed it. She placed her glass back onto Kurenai's coffee table and sat back to look at her friend. Kurenai had been sitting quietly though out the entire story, listening intently. Sumi had detailed the fairly disastrous mission as well as she could and told her friend how the groundwork for her and Kakashi's equally disastrous romance had been created.

"Well…I'm surprised." She finally said after some thought.

"About which part?" Sumi asked, buzzed and too emotionally worn out to really care that much.

"Why aren't you two together?" She clarified. "I mean officially. Why keep it a hush-hush big secret?"

Matsumi shrugged. "It's against the rules for ANBU to date other ANBU, especially if you are on the same squad. It's a major hazard to any mission. I think because it started out like that…we never really moved past it."

Kurenai nodded. "Well then. I think I understand now."

"…what?" Sumi blew the word out in a sign. She really was very tired.

"I think that my suspicions have finally been confirmed: Kakashi really is an idiot."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello there and happy reading! Thanks for sticking with me so long, these two can be a pain to write. Hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully my next update will be much quicker.**

 **As always I don't own Naturo.**

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Chapter 12: How it All Started

Sumi stared at Kurenai's ceiling, pondering what her friend had said to her several days earlier. Maybe she was right and Kakashi truly was just an idiot. But somehow, she didn't think it was that simple.

 _Or maybe he never really cared, not the way you did._

She shook her head to rid herself of the irritating doubts that plagued her mind. She had been staying with Kurenai for about three days now, successfully avoiding Kakashi should he turn up at her place. She had spoken with Anko regarding her duties as Proctor for the Chunin exams and everything had been taken care of.

The Exams would begin the next day at eight in the morning. She understood by now the three tasks of the Exam. The first was a written test which was riddled with questions most Jounin couldn't answer. But as with all things Shinobi, that wasn't really the point. The point of course was to collect information. That is, the first exam would test espionage and surveillance tactics.

Once a trio of young ninja passed that test they would be taken by Anko to the Forest of Death, given one of two scrolls, and instructed to collect another from one of the other teams. After that they were to make it to the center of the forest all within a three-day time-frame. All the teams who were lucky enough to make it to that point would participate in a tournament which would finally determine which would pass and earn the title of Chunin.

Matsumi grimaced in sympathy for the young ones and what they were about to endure. She remembered her own Chunin exams which she passed with the help of Guy and Aoba. It had ben absolutely grueling and she was loath to admit that it was by the skin of their teeth that they succeeded.

She chuckled to herself as she finished packing her rucksack. She had decided after much deliberation that she would return to her apartment that night in order to prepare for her duties as an Exam Proctor. She had decided that she wouldn't let some fools hope (and fear) of Kakashi magically showing up at her place stop her from fulfilling her commitment. She even had to chastise herself for thinking that situation was even likely in the first place. After all, this was no fairy tale. The very idea of Kakashi as a prince had her snorting with disbelieving laughter.

She was still chuckling to herself as she bid goodbye to Kurenai, who had to finish prepping her own squad of Genin for the Exams, and headed down the short path to her home.

She managed to continue to amuse herself as she envisioned Kakashi wearing different princely outfits. She imagined one with too-large sleeves, one with a cape, even him wearing a crown.

"What's so funny?"

That voice drove all traces of humor from her expression as her eyes lighted on the masked face of the last person she would have reasonably expected to see seated outside her door.

"Kakashi! What are you doing here?" She was immediately on guard, completely ignoring what she supposed was a good-natured question.

"Now, now, what's with all the suspicion?" He was seated on the steps before her door, a copy of Itcha Itcha Paradise folded neatly in his lap. He raised both hands in front of himself in a gesture of surrender. "I haven't seen you in a few days and I wanted to talk to you."

"So you camp out in front of my door hoping you would happen to catch me?" Sumi asked her voice edged with steel and frost.

"Well…I wouldn't say _camp out_." Kakashi replied in his infuriatingly indirect way.

"What do you want Kakashi? If you want to talk, talk. If not, I have other things I need to do." Sumi stated this bluntly. She wasn't sure what the man could possibly have to say to her that hadn't already been perfectly clear. Matsumi had let slip her feelings and he had spurned them. He didn't feel the same way, what more was there for him to say that wouldn't otherwise damage Sumi further?

Kakashi closed his covered mouth, cutting off his immediate reply and regarded Matsumi with what she assumed to be a mixture of sadness and apprehension. It was as though he was concerned that she would take a strike at him if given the opportunity.

She turned her head away from his one-eyed gaze, too tense to continue the conversation. The momentary shock of seeing him had given way to extremely uncomfortable feelings. She wanted to one moment punch his stupid Sharingan out of his head while the next she wanted to fling herself into his arms. She trembled slightly from the depth of her feelings, from the depth of her injury from his lack of response.

Finally after receiving no further protest from her, he rose slowly to his feet and took a few tentative steps towards her. When he saw she didn't back away from him be came closer and stepped directly in front of her. "I wanted to talk about the last time we saw each other."

His words were soft but Matsumi couldn't help flinching at the memory. His rejection was still fresh in her mind, still painful. She didn't want to talk about it at all. If Kakashi wanted to salvage something of their "friendly" situation, he would have a hell of a time trying. Matsumi was determined to move on from their four-year long affair. If he couldn't offer her something real, something more, then she didn't want anything to do with him.

"There isn't anything to talk about. You said it all." She folded her arms in front of her and raised her head and eyebrows in a not-so-subtle challenge.

"…No I didn't." Kakashi said softly again. He reached out towards her like someone trying to calm a wild animal that might eviscerate him at any moment.

"Yes you did! I said something unexpected…reckless, and you _rejected_ me Kakashi."

"I'll admit that what I said was very…thoughtless…but I didn't reject you." His voice was pleading now, his hands almost touching her arms.

Matsumi looked into his one visible eye, its black depths held more despair and sadness that she had seen in them in a long time. She thought furiously for one moment before deciding.

"Fine, you can come in and we can talk. You have five minutes to say what you came here to say, then you need to leave. I need to prepare for tomorrow." Without waiting for a response, she shouldered past his raised arms and matched up the steps to her apartment. She entered and waited until Kakashi had followed her through to the inside.

* * *

Kakashi followed Sumi warily into her apartment. He had been an absolute wreck during the days that followed his disastrous reaction to her confession. Between banging his idiotic head against the wall and stalking her apartment hoping to run into her, he had almost run out of time to prepare his team for the Chunin Exams. Luckily in typical Kakashi Hatake fashion, he had delivered their entry moments before the deadline closed. The Hokage hadn't been amused by his tardiness.

Finally, after days without being able to locate her, Kakashi had decided to park himself in front of her door in the hopes of her having no choice but to see him, to listen to him. As far as Kakashi was concerned, if this went the way he hoped it would, he would never need tell her just how long he had sat there waiting for her, growing more and more anxious with each passing hour.

Then, she appeared. His first sight of her made his heart want to clench. She looked tired. There were dark circles under her striking green eyes as if she hadn't been sleeping well. Her normally perky demeanor seemed run-down, almost as if the bright light inside of her had dimed, like it was struggling to get enough oxygen to thrive. Overall it absolutely killed Kakashi to think that his carelessness and obliviousness had done this to her. Even so, despite it all, Kakashi didn't care. To him she still looked beautiful.

So beautiful that it made him ache.

The girl in question waited for him to enter through her doorway, their arms centimeters from touching, before she closed the door with an audible click behind him. She turned to face him, her toned arms still folded in front of him like a shield. And if that was her shield, the look on her face was certainly the sword.

She regarded him with cold detachment, almost the way she had used to when they were much younger. Back when she still blamed him for Rin's death. That look, more than anything, was what caused Kakashi to feel true panic for the first time. He had to admit that a large part of him had assumed that even though what he had said was extremely dense, he hadn't truly considered the possibility that Matsumi would distance herself to that extent. Not after all they had been through. He hadn't until that moment considered that he could actually lose her.

 _What is that saying? You don't know what you have until it's gone? Maybe that applies here, you idiot._

It looked like if Kakashi was to right his wrongs and win her back, he would have to steel himself for a siege against the walls she had begun to build.

"Well?" Sumi finally said after several seconds of Kakashi gawking at her like a new-born chick.

"Oh, right. I wanted to talk to you about the other night."

"…and?" Matsumi said. Annoyance and anger flashed across her face.

"You said I rejected you…" Kakashi stated lamely, suddenly on uneven footing. He wasn't sure if it was the novelty of being asked to voice his true emotions or the fact that even as worn out at the girl in front of him appeared she still cut a very striking figure, but either way his words seemed to get caught up in his throat.

"…Yes I believe you did."

"I didn't! At least, that wasn't what I was meaning, you just…caught me off-guard." Kakashi said this hurriedly, running his fingers through his already disheveled hair as he did so. What was it about this women that always seemed to disrupt him down to the core? How was it that even after going through this conversation in his head for hours she would still throw him off so completely?

"I caught you off-guard?" She asked, disbelieving what was coming out of his mouth. "The Great Kakashi Hatake was caught off-guard?" She twisted the words around in her mouth and they came out mocking.

 _She really must be pissed at me,_ Kakashi thought distastefully to himself.

"Yes Sumi-chan. The last thing I expected you to say was that you loved me!" He said the last part with his voice slightly raised. He was truly upset now, trying hard to let her know that it wasn't that he didn't care about her, far from it, but he was utterly, devastatingly, confused.

"The last thing you expected?" Matsumi echoed, looking sad for the first time during the conversation. "After four years of our so-called relationship? After years of evenings, nights and weekends together? After hundreds of missions together in ANBU? Well, it looks like your five minutes are up. Thank you for explaining yourself!" During her speech she had grown more and more agitated. But by the end, she simply gestured to the door, looking like the fight had finally gone out of her.

The sight of such a strong, beautiful and caring person, seemingly giving up not just on them being together but on herself was what drove Kakashi to act.

In two quick strides he bridged the gap between then, softly but firmly gripping her upper arms, pressing his torso up against her own.

"No! I said leave!" She struggled against him, her fire suddenly lit once again by his touch. And though she was clearly still angry, Kakashi found himself emboldened by her reaction.

"No." He said carefully, locking his eye on hers as he did so.

"I said leave!" Sumi choked out, and Kakashi could feel her trembling underneath his grip.

"No." His voice cracked but he said the word firmly.

"Leave!" She was almost sobbing by that point; the only thing keeping her from collapsing into his arms was sheer stubbornness.

"No." He reached one arm forward and cradled the back of her head, pressing it into his chest. And that was all it took. She collapsed into him, pressing her smaller form into his seeking comfort as she sobbed.

He lowered them carefully onto the carpet, he sat back on his butt and drew her into him, slowly rocking back and forth, whispering his apology over and over again. No matter what it took, he would _make_ her believe in him again, he would _make_ her trust him again.

They remained like that for a long time. Gradually Sumi stopped crying, her muscles stopped shaking and she grew content in Kakashi's embrace. She hadn't said anything since her breakdown, but neither had she tried to pull away. Finally Kakashi asked the question that had burned in his gut ever since he had decided to camp out in front of her apartment.

"Can I stay?" He waited for the refusal, for the dismissal. It never came.

"Okay."

The two moved around each other like cautious animals. Sumi got ready for bed silently, Kakashi followed her example, slipping into an extra set of clothes that he kept at her place for occasions such as this. The entire situation felt like déjà vu, but for some reason he couldn't place it.

Then it hit him, and it was like he was transported back into time.

* * *

It had been a week since Kakashi and the rest of Team Ro had returned to Konaha from their mission in Hidden Mist. Since then, he hadn't mentioned anything to Matsumi about his staying the night by her side when she was injured in her fall.

It seemed that on her end, she had either slept through the entire thing or had the professionalism not to mention it. Kakashi's professionalism on the other hand was quickly drying up like a tree during a drought. He found that during the days following the mission he was growing more and more protective of her and more and more…aware…of certain things.

Finally, it all culminated one faithful afternoon. He and Matsumi were the last ones left in the Team Ro locker room. Itachi, Yamato and Yugao had all dismissed themselves, each heading back to their respective dwellings to take care of any business that had been left unattended in their absence. It seemed that young Itachi, more than anyone else had additional expectations placed onto him as the heir to the Uchiha clan. He had commented briefly that his father expected him at the upcoming clan meeting later that night.

Therefore it was a stroke of luck that Matsumi had gotten caught up making last-minute repairs on her ANBU arm guards.

"Need any help?" He had asked casually, oh-so casually as he had lingered behind the others.

"Huh? Oh, no I think I just about—"

There was an audible snap as Matsumi's handiwork resulted in one end of the guard separating itself entirely from the other end.

"Crap." She moaned to herself, holding up the two newly-separated pieces for Kakashi to see.

He shot her a signature eye-crinkle to show his amusement at her lack of repair skills.

"What should I do now?" She laughed a little at her own expense. "I don't have any extra and we can't get any more until the next shipment of supplies arrives."

Kakashi thought about that statement and the beginnings of what could possibly be a _very_ bad idea began to form in his mind.

"…I have some extra at my place." He offered this carefully. It was his duty after all as squad Captain. He was supposed to make sure his squad members were properly equipped at all times. _Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Because her coming over would have nothing to do with how badly you want to put you—_

He hastily shut down that thought.

"Do you? That would actually be great. Do you think they would fit? My arms are shorter than yours."

"I think so; these are from a few years ago when I was shorter." He stepped closer to her to demonstrate. Her head only made it to his chest. He had to stop himself from moving any closer.

"Oh, great. Can we go there now?" Her eyes widened as Kakashi had stepped closer to her, and, was it Kakashi's imagination? He thought he saw her cheeks darker slightly, but then it was gone.

"Now?" He was taken-off guard. He hadn't expected her to agree, much less to want to go right at that moment.

"Unless you have other plans?" She asked uncertainly, her green eyes meeting his face and sending multiple sensations through his stomach.

"No. No other plans." He confirmed. _And even if I had…well screw them._

And that was how Kakashi found himself walking with Matsumi Kurama en route to his apartment. All the way there he found that his elbow kept brushing against her waist…it was very distracting.

"…Kakashi?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we here?" She seemed confused.

"Oh, yes…why do you ask?"

"Well, we have been standing in front of this door for the last minute and I wasn't sure if maybe you forgot your keys?"

Kakashi blinked and was surprised to find that they really were outside of his door. Suddenly the inside of his mouth seemed very dry. He swallowed with discomfort and made his way to unlock the door.

The two of them headed inside and Kakashi's brain immediately stopped working. He was in his apartment with Matsumi. The girl who, up until a few years ago, had utterly hated his guts. Now, Kakashi was hopelessly attracted to her and he was her ANBU Captain!

 _How does my life always end up like this?_ He wondered to himself.

"Kakashi, where did you say the guards were?" Matsumi's voice came from his entryway where she was working on taking off her sandals. Once the job was complete, she straightened up and walked into the living area of his dwelling.

The day had been a hot one and Matsumi was dressed in civilian clothing, having discarded her black ANBU pants and heavy chest protector. Instead she wore white pants that came down to her knees and a light green t-shirt that brought out the color of her eyes. Her black hair was tied back, the nape of her neck uncovered so as to invite any infrequent summer breezes, her Leaf Headband firmly tied into place.

As Kakashi regarded her he found he really didn't care about any ANBU rules and expectations, much less where he kept his _damn_ extra equipment. The only thing he found he cared about was the women right in front of him.

Slowly, almost as if he was in a dream, Kakashi reached up one hand to lower his face mask. Though Matsumi had the option of wearing less clothing this time of year, Kakashi had no choice but to continue his normal disguise. And it was sweltering.

Keeping his one visible eye on Matsumi's face, he slowly walked over to her. He regarded her and with a sudden flash of insight realized that he might be doing something completely unwelcome to her. She might reject him…hit him…never speak to him again. But Kakashi simply couldn't let this feeling go.

"Kakashi…?" Matsumi tilted her head up to look at him. He was standing so close to her he had just to reach out his hand to touch her.

"Yes…?" He mimicked her hesitation.

"What are you…"

He came closer to her, tracing her jaw line with his fingers.

"…doing?" She finished breathlessly.

Kakashi's hand twitched at her tone, at the way her breath came out unevenly from her lips. Instead of answering her, he leaned down and placed a light kiss to her mouth. He closed his eyes, utterly absorbed by the feeling of his lips against hers. It was even better than he ever imagined it would be.

He drew back and examined Matsumi's face. He expected to see anger there, confusion…even perhaps disgust. What he saw instead caused his stomach to do absolute summersaults instead. Her eyes reflected just as much desire for him as he was sure his own actions demonstrated.

And that was all it took for Kakashi to surrender control.

He grabbed Matsumi, locking his lips against hers, this time almost greedily, as if he was afraid that she would be whisked away at any moment.

She squeaked in surprise, but eagerly kissed him back. Kakashi pressed her into the wall, aligning her body against his. As he had always known her to be, Matsumi was strong and well-muscled. But she also had a pleasing plumpness in certain areas, areas which he began to explore for the first time.

He moved his hands tentatively at first, but then more boldly as she continued to show no signs of pushing him away. In fact, her own hands joined in on the action and pressed themselves firmly against his chest.

The two continued in that way before Matsumi finally pulled back. She was breathing hard, her hair slightly disheveled and her cheeks flushed a delightful pink.

"Kakashi…I…"

"Matsumi…I…"

They both said at the same time, and then each cracked tentative smiles. Matsumi gestured for him to go first.

"I…I know this is sudden, but…I, I want you." He said it so hesitantly, so lamely that he was sure she would be turned off.

Instead he saw her green eyes darken with an emotion he couldn't quite place though the sight caused his stomach to twist in that uncomfortably wonderful way.

"Me too, I want you too." She said it fast and her cheeks grew redder.

Kakashi grinned.

He moved towards her again, this time edging his hands underneath her green shirt. He slid them up, grazing the lace of her bra, and pulled it over her head. Soon, they were kissing again, this time Kakashi roamed down her neck, and though he was relatively inexperienced, he was a quick learner, and if Matsumi's noises were anything to go by, he thought he was doing just fine.

She paused from kissing once again to tentatively tug the bottom of his shirt, he got her meaning and helped her pull it up over his head. She took a moment, just then, to truly look at him. He did the same for her. Sure, being on an ANBU squad together allowed for many a time when they had needed to change in each other's presence, along with the other three, but this was different. This was new in so many ways and Kakashi could see how fragile it all was. He smiled her and she grinned back. She took his hand and pushed herself off of the wall.

"Do you really want to do this here?" She raised an eyebrow and gently pulled him towards Kakashi's bedroom.

Suddenly Kakashi's brain went entirely blank, the only thing he was focused on being the girl directly in front of him. He swallowed hard for what seemed like the fifteenth time that day, suddenly very glad that he was the neat freak that he was, and traced her steps into his bedroom.

They continued kissing, this time Kakashi taking over completely, as he steered her backwards to sit down on the bed. He followed her down, breaking the kiss and took a moment to remove his usual elbow guards and Leaf Headband.

He waited patiently as Matsumi did the same for her extra gear which left the two of them in only their pants while she still had on her bra.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi suddenly asked, afraid that maybe they were going too fast though the very last thing in the world that he wanted was for them to stop.

"Yes." She said it so confidently, her eyes meeting his, both uncovered, with a fierce determination and no small amount of need.

Kakashi decided that the time for words was over, and gave himself over to the experience.

It was both of their first time so Kakashi did his best go slowly. He removed both of their pants, caressing and exploring each new patch of skin that she revealed to him. She responded to every touch with a moan or gasp which only drew Kakashi closer to the edge.

His hands roamed her body, dipping lower and lower with each pass. His hands hooked under the edge of her underwear, tugging them off with hands trembling with the effort of keeping it soft and gentle.

All of his resolve suddenly shattered with Matsumi disconnected her lips from his and bit him softly on the neck.

Kakashi gasped at the action, and found he couldn't control himself any longer. They had been teasing each other long enough that he found she was more than ready for him. With a quick glance up at her for confirmation, he positioned himself over her, grasping both of her toned legs with an almost bruising intensity.

She nodded her assent and he moved himself deeper inside of her. She tensed immediately and Kakashi took it slow. Gradually, her face seemed to relax and she nodded her head for him to continue. He did, trembling at first, _damn it feels so good!_ Then he began to move. With each thrust he found the sensation to build, then quite suddenly he couldn't stop. He made it exactly five and a half thrusts before he came.

He groaned deep in his throat before pressing his forehead into her shoulder. He trembled for a few minutes as Matsumi caressed his back and held him to her.

"I-I'm sorry," he gasped, "I couldn't wait any longer."

She chuckled a bit before answering. "It's alright, I've heard that the first time can be…brief." She maneuvered herself so he could slide out of her and then lay on his side next to her.

He looked at her face, then the rest of her and fully expected himself to wake up from one of the many dreams he had had of her like this. But he never did. He couldn't believe that she was actually here beside him.

"Did you like it?" She asked and Kakashi sensed real concern in her voice underneath the casualness of her tone.

"Does the Hokage have a preference for tobacco?" He grinned at her.

She laughed. "Good, I just wanted to make sure because sometimes the first time isn't..." She finished before looking away, a deeper blush evident on her cheeks.

"The best because neither or us knows what we are doing?" He finished, teasing her lightly.

"…What do you mean neither of us?" She asked, confused. "You mean, this was your first time too?" Her mouth was open in shock and Kakashi blinked at her.

"…Yes? I thought that was obvious since I lasted all of thirty seconds." He deadpanned.

"Oh."

"What, you thought I had already slept with someone else? With who?"

Matsumi shrugged. "I wasn't sure, I thought maybe it was someone from another ANBU squad."

Kakashi looked at her as if she were some strange puzzle he couldn't figure out. "In case you haven't noticed I haven't been interested in anyone but you."

He said this bluntly and Matsumi turned to look at him. He could tell that she was beyond surprised and found that he thought it quite precious. She must have thought him to be some kind of wizard to have the time between juggling his work as ANBU Captain and numerous training sessions to focus on anyone other than his own squad members.

She smiled at him and said, "Well, if that's the case, how do you feel about exploring those interests further?"

Again, all rational thought was driven from his mind. What was this girl doing to him?

* * *

The memory of their first time had caught Kakashi off-guard. They had contented themselves with staying in bed for the entire rest of the day until they both passed out from fatigue. The next morning Matsumi and Kakashi awoke and proceeded to spend the morning in total awkwardness as they faced the total change in their relationship.

Then, as she was leaving, she had asked him to call her Sumi. She had explained that her name was awkward enough as it was and that since Kakashi and she had gone down this new path, she would like to offer that change. He had readily agreed.

"Sumi-chan?" He asked the beautiful woman before him.

She turned to look at him, the last traces of her tears having been scrubbed from her face.

He looked at her, this beautiful, strong, and courageous woman. The only woman he had ever been with, indeed the only woman who he had ever been 'interested in' as he had said so long ago. He found that in that moment his feeling bubbled up to the surface and he could have cursed himself for not realizing it all this time.

It had only, ever, been her.

"I love you."


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello and thank you to all who have read this fic. This is the last chapter and I hope it rounds out the story in a way that everyone feels is satisfying. I was originally going to make it much longer and I might at some point, but for now this is how the story ends.**

 **As always, I don't own Naruto, only my OC. Thanks so much!**

* * *

Chapter 13: Happy Ending

Sumi really felt like someone had punched her. She felt like the shock that one felt after such a surprising blow…but not the pain. She felt her adrenaline rush, but could find no enemy to face. Just Kakashi.

She stared stupidly at the silver-haired man, the man who had caused her so much grief for over half her life…but so much joy and happiness as well.

"I'm sorry…what?" She cocked her head to one side and stuck her pointer finger in her ear, just in case she had gone deaf in the last five seconds and hadn't noticed.

Kakashi eye-crinkled at her, his face mask and headband still in place. "You heard me."

"No, I don't think I did because I thought you said—"

"I love you."

She continued to stare.

"I love you." He said again, this time his eye crinkle was gone and his dark eye regarded her with absolute seriousness. He tugged his face mask down and his headband up, staring straight at her Sharingan and all, and for the first time Sumi really thought she was seeing the true Kakashi.

He had always hidden behind one mask or another. Whether it was his signature face-mask that he had worn since childhood, his ANBU mask, or the deeper mask of his pain and anguish.

"Say it again." Sumi continued to look at him but her stare changed to one of need. She had been waiting what seemed like her whole adult life for him to say that. She had been waiting for him, and _damn it_ , he had made her wait a _long_ time.

Kakashi grinned, "I love y—"

And then her lips were on his and she was in his arms once again. Both of them kissed each other feverishly, each smiling at odd intervals as they held each other. They continue to do this for what seemed an eternity, just kissing one another not out of lust, but for the first time, out of mutual and spoken love.

Or at least, it had begun that way.

Gradually that need that Sumi felt burned to the surface like the Will of Fire that burned throughout the Leaf Village. She clutched at Kakashi's shoulders, deepening the kiss. He responded all-too well, returning it with equal heat and fervor.

It was too much, all the emotions that Sumi had been feeling from anger, hurt, devastation and sadness, but they all burned up under the heat and power of finally being able to openly express her true feelings.

Already each only partially clothed, they made short work of the rest of their coverings. Soon, the two of them were tumbling onto the neatly-made bed, completely naked, but not caring one bit for any preamble. Each one was desperate, hungry, and recovering from his and her own emotional ordeal.

Matsumi found that she had tunnel-vision and the only thing she saw was Kakashi. He was the only thing on her radar. She was consumed by his touch. Kakashi alternated between light and fluttery caresses to hard, almost bruising grips that only pushed her further over the edge of her own lust.

Kakashi continued his touches, getting himself and Matsumi closer and closer until he had himself positioned over her, ready and waiting for her confirmation. As she watched him, his silver shock of hair hovering over a quirky grin, she had a sudden flash-back of the first time they had engaged in this exact activity.

She remembered that Kakashi had been very nervous, though at the time it had only been displayed as social awkwardness mixed with what seemed to be inattentiveness. Truly, Matsumi had wanted to kiss him the instant they had returned from that mission so long ago in Hidden Mist. But she simply hadn't been able to work up the courage to do it.

Then, seemingly the perfect opportunity presented itself when she broke her ANBU equipment on purpose. She had felt horribly guilty afterwards, destroying a perfectly usable piece of gear, but had since decided it was one of the best decisions she had ever made. And the events which had unfolded from there had been nothing short of an adventure. Now, looking back on it, Kakashi had always been the one, though at first that hadn't been her intention. After all, you weren't _supposed_ to fall for your ANBU captain. But then again, it was Kakashi, after all.

It seemed that no matter how the world had twisted them away from each other using pain and loss, they always came back together to tend to their own wounds. As they had continued to bind themselves together over the years, it seemed that the old wounds they had both sustained after Rin's death and after the death of Lord Fourth and Kushina had finally be healed.

Matsumi looked deep into Kakashi's mismatched eyes and let him take over. They moved together with such familiarity and love that she never wanted the moment to end. Finally, Kakashi, his face beaded with sweat, brought them over the edge together and the two of them curled up against one another. They held each other, drifting in and out of sleep until the sun rose. Both of them feeling more satisfied and whole than they ever had before.

* * *

Epilogue: Ten Years Later

Kakashi Hatake awoke all at once. As the Sixth Hokage and a life-long Shinobi, he knew no other way to greet the morning. He stretched and ran a hand through his perpetually unruly silver hair and took a moment to admire the sleeping woman beside him. Matsumi Hatake was still asleep which was only natural given the earliness of the hour. Kakashi smiled, his face unmasked in the privacy of their home.

He continued to watch the woman beside him, his mind wandering across the span of years, each memory making his smile grow ever wider. So engrossed was he that he didn't notice the minutes tick by and finally the dark-haired woman beside him stirred. She turned to face him and cracked one brilliant green eye open and gave him an equally brilliant smile.

"Good morning Lord Hokage." She said sleepily.

"Good morning, love." He said, "But you know you won't be able to call me that much longer."

"Ha, of course. Today is the day after all. I still can't believe that Lord Fourth and Kushina's son grew up to accomplish all he has. I still remember how Naruto-kun pranked you that first day in the classroom. Do you remember?"

Kakashi's expression turned forlorn. "Yes, and I still maintain my first assessment that those three are total idiots. And besides, I have far fonder memories of that day." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sumi grinned at him. "Well, would you like to make some more memories today?"

Kakashi could think of nothing better.

After they were both satisfied, Kakashi happened to glance at the wall. "Hmm, when did I need to be at the ceremony again?"

"…right now." Matsumi said guiltily.

Kakashi let out a barking laugh and together and then headed to the ceremony. Both knowing as they did so that though things may always change, they would always have each other to fall back on. They would always have each other to help ease the pain. And Kakashi would have it no other way.


End file.
